Territoriality, Climate Change, and Socio-environmental Conflicts in the North-Central Highlands of Ecuador

This project addresses the multifactorial impact of climate change and rural development dynamics on fragile Andean ecosystems, directly affecting the economies and livelihoods of indigenous and peasant communities in the Central-Northern Sierra of Ecuador. The core problem lies in how altered weather patterns (frosts, droughts) and pressure from activities like agriculture, livestock, and mining accelerate biodiversity loss and restrict access to vital resources such as water and fertile land. This ecosystem degradation generates tensions and frustrations that can escalate into socio-environmental conflict. The methodology involves an exhaustive bibliographic review of Andean resilience experiences, followed by intensive fieldwork. This fieldwork includes data collection through expert interviews and conducting micro-workshops with focus groups. The goal is to map and identify changes that have occurred over a 50-year period (1967-2017). Finally, a comparative systematization and interpretation of existing documentation against community interpretations of resilience practices observed in Kichwa communities in Cotopaxi and Pichincha is performed, aiming to understand the multicausal origins of these phenomena and validate comprehensive strategies rooted in local knowledge.<br/><br/><b>Goal</b>: <br/>To establish the central correlation between climate change, the degradation of fragile Andean ecosystems linked to rural family economies (peasant and indigenous) in the Central-Northern Sierra of Ecuador, and dynamics of socio-environmental conflict.<br/><br/><b>Research lines</b>: <br/>State, citizenship, public policies and interculturality