Propuesta integral de ordenamiento territorial para el fortalecimiento de la participación ciudadana ante el riesgo de inundación en la vereda La Argentina, Villavicencio-Meta.

Abstract

This research developed a comprehensive proposal that strengthened effective citizen participation in flood risk management as a land-use planning tool in the La Argentina Village, part of the 3rd district of the city of Villavicencio. The study focused on the social construction of risk through citizen participation, where social variables, such as vulnerability and participation, are integrated with environmental variables. The research consisted of three phases to achieve the project's objective. Initially, it consisted of a multi-temporal analysis from 1986 to 2023, which revealed the behavior of water bodies that pose a latent threat to the community of the village, especially the Guatiquía River and the La Argentina Stream. These findings revealed a significant transformation of the landscape and an increasing exposure of the village to flooding events. A detailed review of the current state of the planning and management instruments applicable to this particular case was then conducted. This exercise revealed limitations in the integration of the risk component into local policies, as well as gaps in institutional coordination and community participation mechanisms. This information was complemented and validated through semi-structured interviews with three local experts in social work, risk management, and territorial planning. Their perspectives allowed for a contrast and enrichment of the technical analysis, confirming the urgency of strengthening participatory and interdisciplinary approaches in rural planning and risk management processes in territories such as La Argentina. This led to the collective development of a proposal, supported by participatory processes such as workshops, social mapping, and risk scenario simulations. These dynamics not only made visible the perceptions, needs, and knowledge of the territory, but also quantified the potential economic losses in the event of a catastrophe, which provided a key technical component for decision-making. Simulations of the current hazard and risk associated with the flooding of the Guatiquía River and the La Argentina Stream helped assess the magnitude of a potential disaster and served as input for designing adaptation strategies. The participatory exercise also revealed a set of structural problems affecting the community, such as a lack of planning, weak risk management, and tensions arising from disjointed urban and rural development. In response to these complexities, and as a result of collaborative work between the researcher and the community, a Rural Planning Unit (UPR) was developed for the La Argentina district. This unit was proposed as a technical and social instrument that articulates local knowledge with the principles of territorial planning, promoting comprehensive risk management, strengthening the social fabric, and territorial sustainability.