Caracterización y gestión territorial del distrito de riego usosaldaña

Abstract

The Usosaldaña Irrigation District, located in the municipality of Saldaña (Tolima, Colombia), is one of the country's most strategic irrigation systems, supplying water to over 14,000 hectares of rice and agricultural land. Unplanned urban expansion in the “La Esperanza” and “El Progreso Rural districts has created growing pressure on the Mariano Ospina Pérez Canal, generating land-use conflicts, irregular subdivision of agricultural plots, and threats to hydraulic infrastructure. The study applied a territorial approach combining review of the Municipal Land-Use Scheme (EOT 2002), geospatial analysis using the LADM-COL standard model, QGIS cartographic processing, and primary data from the municipal planning office and USOSALDAÑA. Results show that the P7–P12 section of the canal (3.31 km, ~100 adjacent plots) represents the highest urbanization pressure point. Systematic violations of the Family Agricultural Unit (UAF) thresholds were identified, along with irregular plot subdivision and missing protective buffer zones. LADM-based zoning confirmed that most of the area qualifies as intensive agricultural land, incompatible with the residential uses being established. The study concludes that normative incorporation of the irrigation district into the EOT revision, enforcement of 30-meter buffer zones, implementation of a Payment for Environmental Services (PES) scheme, and coordination with national and regional financing instruments are the key strategies to ensure long-term water and food security. The main contribution is a preventive territorial management model that repositions the irrigation district as the central organizing axis for rural land-use planning in Saldana.