AvH - Henriette-Herz - Vallejos

Land use changes are driven by a diversity of actors, with diverse land use practices taking place in different environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural settings. To design and implement conservation strategies adaptable to each context, it is necessary to understand the heterogeneity and complexity of the landscapes and its people. Agricultural expansion in the Chaco ecoregion is currently one of the most complex and worrying environmental problems in the Southern Cone due to the speed of the changes, its environmental consequences, and the social problems it triggers. Research and management efforts aimed at mitigating the environmental impacts of land use changes in this region have grown considerably in recent years, but there are still important gaps addressing the problem from a comprehensive social-ecological perspective, capable of generating a link between knowledge production and decision-making. The overarching goal of my research proposal is to develop conceptual and methodological elements to characterize the spatial and temporal dynamics of socio-ecological systems for different land use contexts. The methodology will be evaluated in the Argentine Dry Chaco, with emphasis on the problems associated with deforestation and degradation.