Territorial conflicts and local water governance in the Middle Basin of the Suárez River (Saravita). National Bridge Municipality -Santander Department

Abstract

There are territorial conflicts around the use of water by the actors who are in the middle
account of the Suarez river of the municipality of Puente Nacional, there are evident the
neglect of the environmental authorities at the micro-basin scale, the des-territorialization
peasant families, as well as the excessive use of resources by private actors, these practices
undermine the quality of life of the inhabitants, reduce the availability of resources and the
resilience capacity of ecosystems.
Based on this inquiry, local water governance is proposed as the means for critical
reflection on problems and alternative solutions that involve the different actors, alluding
to a greater incidence in management by the inhabitants and social organizations that They
seek to exercise their own right to water based on the recognition of their knowledge,
territorialities, and local dynamics. But also, to effective regulation by environmental
authorities in ​ land use planning, as well as compliance with the standards by companies
that extract and transform resources in the sector.