Environmental conservation policies in the "Sierra de la Macarena" and their relationship with the emergence of territorial conflicts.

Abstract

This article is a general synthesis of an implicit aspect of the thesis for a Master's degree in Environmental and Territorial Policy from the University of Buenos Aires, entitled: Environmental conservation policies and conflicts in protected areas: The case of the "Sierra de La Macarena" (1948-2008), which contributes to understand diverse territorial conditions that favored the emergence of several conflicts between various civilian and armed actors, including the former FARC-EP (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army) and the Colombian State.
The general objective of the research was to contribute to the analysis of the relationship between the State in its role as manager and organizer of the territory and the emergence of territorial conflicts in spaces under legal conservation regime (protected areas). In essence, the research was descriptive, methodologically qualitative, with a review of a large number of primary and secondary sources, newspaper articles, tours in the area and semi-structured interviews with local actors. It was based on the case of the Sierra de la Macarena National Natural Park (Meta-Colombia).
One of the most relevant results of the research, from which this article derives, was to demonstrate how the State, without adequate territorial control by action or omission, and with erroneous administrative decisions via public policy, contributes to configure scenarios where all kinds of territorial conflicts arise between various actors, which if not properly handled can lead to armed conflict, such as that of the FARC-EP with the Colombian National Army, drug traffickers and paramilitary groups.