Linking indigenous territorial autonomy and environmental sustainability: a case study of the resguardo El Duya in Colombia

The aim of this dissertation is to understand the contributions of indigenous autonomous institutions to environmental sustainability in indigenous territories in Colombia. Past research has neglected to account for the role of indigenous territorial autonomy in spatial environmental planning and the overall goal of environmental sustainability. This gap is approached through the institutional design principles theory, informed by indigenous planning literature and the social-ecological systems framework. This research uses a case study, the resguardo El Duya, and a qualitative approach, where data collection was made through interviews, observation and document analysis. The results for this resguardo are presented in the context of Orinoquia region, which is analysed using the concept of frontier. This research asks about the way in which indigenous institutions mediate the relation of humans and the territory, finding that they have been going through a process of institutional change with several milestones characterised by external disturbances produced by non-indigenous actors. Currently, two institutional arrangements coexist in El Duya, customary and novel institutions, for which the analysis shows that the majority of design principles are present and some of them exhibit implementation problems. Thus, indigenous institutions have kept the integrity of ecosystems; despite changes in the social-ecological system and environmental impacts caused by oil extraction-related activities. This research further asks about spatial environmental planning, finding that it has been implemented by indigenous and non-indigenous actors, where the latter includes external governmental authorities and oil companies. This has resulted in an asymmetrical planning setting, in which the Salia people are deprived from significant planning powers in their territory. Furthermore, non-indigenous environmental authorities have contributed poorly in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystems of El Duya, under a frame in which the notion of environmental sustainability is not used by the people of this resguardo and is understood variably by governmental actors. Finally, this research asks about territorial autonomy concerning nature, which has been found to be partially exercised, since authority, decision-making and their enforcement are hindered by the intervention of environmental authorities. This corresponds to a jurisdictional encroachment over indigenous authorities, enabled by the Colombian State arrangement. Consequently, indigenous institutions do contribute to environmental sustainability in El Duya; however, this should be understood in terms of novel aspects enabled by the distinctiveness of Salia institutions and current territorial autonomy limitations.:Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Rationale of the research 1.2 Outline of the dissertation 2 Indigenous territories: essentials for their study 2.1 The colonial inheritance 2.1.1 The early years and the disruption of territoriality 2.1.2 Republics and the enthronement of private property 2.2 Current state of indigenous territories in Colombia 2.2.1 Indigenous territorial rights in Colombia 2.2.2 The spatial relevance of indigenous territories 3 Literature review 3.1 Indigenous territories 3.1.1 The rights approach 3.1.2 Boundary-making and indigenous territories 3.2 Environmental sustainability and indigenous territorial autonomy 3.2.1 Subnational arrangements, self-government and autonomy 3.2.2 Indigenous territorial autonomy 3.2.3 The concept of environmental sustainability 3.2.4 Types of sustainability 3.2.5 Indigenous management of natural resources 3.2.6 Environmental planning in indigenous territories 3.3 Research questions 4 Theoretical framework 4.1 Institutional design principles 4.2 The social-ecological systems framework 4.3 Indigenous planning principles 4.4 Dissertation’s approach 5 Methodology 5.1 Research design 5.1.1 Case study research 5.1.2 Unit of analysis and type of case study 5.1.3 Research design limitations 5.2 Methods 5.2.1 Document analysis 5.2.2 Interviews 5.2.3 Qualitative observations 6 Study area: variables in the social-ecological system framework 6.1 Social, economic and political settings; related ecosystems 6.1.1 Economic development; demographic trends; political stability; climate patterns; pollution patterns; flows into and out of focal SES 6.1.2 External governance systems 6.2 Resource systems 6.2.1 Sector; clarity of systems’ boundaries; size of resource system; location. 6.2.2 Human constructed facilities 6.2.3 Equilibrium properties (stable state). 6.2.4 Predictability of system dynamics 6.3 Actors 6.3.1 History or past experiences 6.3.2 Number of relevant actors; socioeconomic attributes; social capital 6.3.3 Location; knowledge of SES (mental models) 6.3.4 Technologies available 6.4 Governance systems 6.4.1 Indigenous organisation; network structure 6.4.2 Property rights systems 6.5 Action situations 6.5.1 Harvesting; importance of resource 6.5.2 Information sharing 6.5.3 Conflicts 6.5.4 Investment activities 6.5.5 Lobbying activities 6.5.6 Networking activities 7 The relation between humans and territory 7.1 The period before the titling of the resguardo 7.1.1 Salia customary rules 7.1.2 Design principles in the customary arrangement 7.2 The period after the titling of the resguardo 7.2.1 Organisational structures 7.2.2 Authorities in El Duya 7.2.3 Rules for natural resources appropriation 7.3 Drivers of institutional transformation 7.3.1 Design principles in El Duya 7.3.2 Robustness of the SES 8 Environmental planning in indigenous territories 8.1 Spatial environmental planning in Colombia 8.2 Planning in El Duya 8.3 Oil exploration and extraction concerning El Duya 8.3.1 Projects of interest for El Duya 8.3.2 Authority over activities related to hydrocarbons 8.4 Environmental sustainability: multiple understandings 8.4.1 State view: a blurry concept 8.4.2 Indicators for environmental sustainability 8.4.3 The ecological function of property 8.4.4 Indigenous view: ‘pervivencia’ 9 Autonomy over ecosystems in El Duya 9.1 Distribution of powers with regard to ecosystems in El Duya 9.2 Authority exercise over ecosystems in El Duya 9.3 Decision-making and agency over ecosystems in El Duya 9.4 Indigenous territorial autonomy in El Duya 10 Discussion of results 10.1 Human-nature relations in El Duya and institutional change 10.1.1 Law of origin, Mother Earth and indigenous ontologies 10.1.2 Salia institutions and change 10.1.3 Interpreting institutional design principles 10.2 Environmental planning: a question of institutional jurisdiction 10.2.1 Indigenous planning, order and territory 10.2.2 Salia way of planning 10.2.3 Looking after the territory 10.2.4 Indigenous jurisdiction and extractive industries 10.2.5 The concept of environmental sustainability in indigenous territories 10.3 Territorial autonomy: the need for further conceptualisation 10.3.1 Authority and decision-making as a component of autonomy 10.3.2 Indigenous territorial autonomy in Colombia 10.3.3 Planning and autonomy 11 Conclusions 11.1 Human relationship with the territory 11.2 Indigenous environmental planning 11.3 Indigenous territorial autonomy and nature 11.4 Contributions to environmental sustainability 11.5 Further research 12 References 13 Appendices 13.1 Appendix A 13.2 Appendix B 13.3 Appendix C 13.4 Appendix D 13.5 Appendix E 13.6 Appendix F 13.7 Appendix G 13.8 Appendix