Abstract

ESTEVES, Matías José. The Dispersed Housing Configuration in not Irrigated Dry Lands as a Strategy Against Desertification. The Case of Lagunas del Rosario, Mendoza, Argentina. Soc. ambient. [online]. 2018, n.18, pp.71-94. ISSN 2007-6576.

The northeast of the province of Mendoza (Argentina) is located in the drylands ecosystem with strong processes of desertification, limited availability of natural resources and the presence of scattered human settlements. It seeks to understand the dispersion in the configuration of the settlements in relation to the ecological characteristics of the territory, the productive activities that are carried out and the role of the State. The objective is to analyze this type of settlement to understand the importance of its current location and its link to sustainability. The methodology used implies direct observation and semi-structured interviews to the local population added to bibliographic information. The results show that the dispersed settlement pattern responds to the ecological and social characteristics of the territory and that it is currently presented as a strategy to deal with the processes of desertification in the development of productive activities and therefore are linked to strong sustainability. The conclusions point out the importance of considering social, economic and ecological factors in an articulated way in the approach to these settlements and the importance of the interaction between the State and the local population to achieve local sustainability and deal with desertification.

Keywords : scattered human settlements; not irrigated dry lands; sustainability; desertification.