Abstract

EJARQUE, Mercedes. Controversial relations in the environmental public policies: the case of the dryland areas of Chubut in Argentina. E&c [online]. 2017, vol.2, n.5, pp.37-62. ISSN 2477-9245.  https://doi.org/10.37228/estado_comunes.v2.n5.2017.52.

This article seeks to analyze the processes related to the definition of environmental problems in the public policies in dryland areas of Chubut in Argentinean Patagonia, a region mainly dedicated to sheep cattle raising. Through analyzing documents and semi-structured interviews, this research shows that the Argentinean State introduced an “official” definition of those problems as it selected one way to interpret them, based on the scientific knowledge over folk wisdom and other modes to understand the environmental issues. This generated questionings from some social agents related to sheep cattle raising regarding the State’s intervention. In this way, policy making and implementation of the environmental policies were controversial processes that generated tensions and questionings. Temporality, social and geographical scope, objectives and types of actions are dimensions that define a way of understanding the environmental problems and that need to be taken into account when public policies design and functioning are evaluated.

Keywords : environmental public policies; controversies; policy making; political ecology; desertification; drought; volcanic ashes deposit; Argentinean Patagonia..

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