Evaluación de Sostenibilidad y Planificación Predial Participativa, en Unidades Familiares Productivas Campesinas como Estrategia Para la Conservación de Servicios Ecosistémicos en El Páramo Rabanal Vereda Boquerón - Ventaquemada - Boyacá

Abstract

The Rabanal páramo is an important strategic ecosystem for water supply, hydrological regulation, and carbon sequestration. However, it faces anthropogenic pressures resulting from the expansion of the agricultural frontier, particularly associated with potato monoculture and overgrazing, practices that have altered its ecological functions. In the rural settlement of Boquerón, in the municipality of Ventaquemada, these dynamics have generated socio-territorial tensions between stringent environmental regulations and the traditional livelihoods of peasant family production units (Unidades Familiares Productivas Campesinas, UFPC), whose members often perceive these regulations as external constraints on their well-being. The main objective of this study was to formulate sustainable development strategies for UFPCs in Boquerón aimed at conserving the ecosystem services provided by the Rabanal páramo. A mixed-methods approach and a non-experimental research design were employed, incorporating community participation. Five UFPCs were assessed using the Framework for the Evaluation of Natural Resource Management Systems Incorporating Sustainability Indicators (MESMIS), through 29 indicators across the environmental, social, and economic dimensions. The analysis was complemented by ATLAS.ti software to process community perceptions and by QGIS, together with participatory mapping, for spatial analysis and the development of a proposal for farm-level spatial reorganization. The results showed that the assessed units exhibited an intermediate level of sustainability, with scores ranging from 2.3 to 2.9 on a five-point scale. This situation was characterized by a high dependence on potato monoculture and pesticide use, which jeopardizes long-term natural capital. Regarding ecosystem service perceptions, water resources were the most highly valued service. However, a technical contradiction was identified: farmers demonstrated a high level of water-use management but limited conservation of water sources. Furthermore, the loss of traditional knowledge and biocultural memory was evident, largely due to the migration of young people to urban areas. The study concluded that sustainability in the area is transitional and fragile, requiring a shift from empirical management practices toward technical farm-level planning. The proposed sustainable planning instrument was based on reorganizing farm plots to establish biological corridors, living fences, riparian buffer protection zones, and crop rotation systems. This proposal emerges as a technically feasible alternative with the potential to improve soil health, protect water sources, and enhance ecological connectivity. Finally, the study recognized that effective páramo conservation requires a transition toward participatory governance that acknowledges peasants as key stakeholders in ecological restoration and as stewards of ecosystem services.