Int. J. Environment and Sustainable Development, Vol. 19, No.

2, 2020 153

Biosphere reserves as models of sustainable

development: Parque Atlántico Mar Chiquito,
Argentina as a case study

Juan Pablo Morea

National Scientific and Technical Research Council,
Moreno 3527, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina
and
Department of Geography,
National University of Mar del Plata,
Funes 3350, 7600, Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Email: juanpablomorea@gmail.com

Abstract: In recent years, debates on sustainable development have focused on

the need to move towards the consolidation of a practical dimension of this
concept. In this context, biosphere reserves have assumed the commitment of
positioning themselves as test laboratories for the search of sustainable
development strategies, posing the challenge of generating successful
experiences at a global level. Based on a case study of Parque Atlántico Mar
Chiquito Biosphere Reserve, this work proposed an evaluation methodology to
determine the potential of establishing a model of sustainable development in
these spaces. The results achieved have allowed identifying key factors in the
construction of a sustainable development model and to weigh the usefulness
that territorial management instruments could have as a strategy to achieve the
articulation between use and conservation and to achieve sustainable
management of biosphere reserves.

Keywords: biosphere reserves; sustainable development; sustainable models;

Mar Chiquita; Argentina; evaluation methodology; MAB Programme; land use
management; planning; UNESCO.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Morea, J.P. (2020)

‘Biosphere reserves as models of sustainable development: Parque Atlántico
Mar Chiquito, Argentina as a case study’, Int. J. Environment and Sustainable
Development, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp.153–173.

Biographical notes: Juan Pablo Morea obtained his PhD in Geography and
Postdoctoral Fellow from the National Scientific and Technical Research
Council (CONICET). He is also a researcher specialised in land use planning
and management in protected areas and in issues related to sustainable
development.

1 Introduction

For some decades, it has been recognised the existence of territorial and environmental
problems that are largely explained by the dysfunctional, conflicting and destructive
relationship that societies have had with their environment, with the rest of the species

Copyright © 2020 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

154 J.P. Morea

and with the spaces that inhabits. This phenomenon has been manifesting globally but
acquires special importance in the Latin American and Argentinean context in particular
(Leff, 2005; Galafassi, 2012; Seoane, 2012; Galafassi, 2014; Paz et al., 2015; Gorenstein,
2015; Zarrilli, 2016; Morea, 2017).
The expansive process of societies and production systems has generated a growing
competition and dispute for the use of space. This context has led to a strong critique of
the economic model and to the forms of exploitation associated with it. Therefore, in
recent times there has been an attempt to promote sustainable development as an
alternative model. However, this concept that has spread globally includes principles,
practices and multidimensionality that give it great complexity. This situation has often
resulted in lack of clarity, in confusion and inaccuracies that have hampered its
materialisation and implementation. For this reason, it is possible to visualise a
permanent renewal, expansion and definition of concepts, objectives and strategies.
Sustainable development has been present in the agenda of the United Nations and
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In
recent times, UNESCO has facilitated a series of meetings and forums to discuss the
implementation of strategies at the global level toward the year 2030. The so-called
Agenda 2030 for sustainable development (UNESCO, 2017a) is the main document, but
there are other plans, strategies, objectives and lines of action that aim to address the
main problems in today’s society and allow the conversion of certain practices towards a
model based on sustainability.
What the 2030 Agenda – and other documents and strategies that emerge from it –
seeks to achieve is to materialise the concept of sustainable development objectives and
actions. This conceptual construction has a relatively recent origin and has consequently
generated many debates about its definition and interpretation. These debates continue
and it is still difficult to establish precisely what sustainability is, how it can be put into
practice and how it can be evaluated or measured (Wilson and Wu, 2017; Görg et al.,
2017; Fang et al., 2018; García-Frapolli et al., 2018). The main challenge that arises, not
only from UNESCO, but from many organisms and scientific institutions throughout the
world is to materialise in concrete experiences models of societies that respond to the
different criteria and objectives that the theory of sustainable development has acquired
in the current context.
In line with the above, there have emerged new currents of thought or new
approaches to address the relationship between society and nature and the problem of the
conservation of biodiversity. Socio-ecological research, human ecology, environmental
anthropology, environmental sociology, human-environment geography, environmental
economics, ecological economics, sustainability science, are examples of the
denominations of some of these new approaches (Leff, 2012; Anderson et al., 2015;
Redford et al., 2015; Bennett et al., 2017; Casas et al., 2017; Larsen, 2018).
All these proposals share the fact of trying to propitiate a change in the interpretation
that different sciences give to the relationship between society and nature. A change that
fundamentally lies in generating interdisciplinary approaches that combine the
knowledge of natural sciences with social sciences.
In that sense, it is interesting to address the implications that the 2030 Agenda has had
on the Program on Man and the Biosphere (MAB). This program has existed since the
year 1971 and its fundamental premise has been working to improve the relations
between man and the environment. The MAB Strategy 2015–2025 proposes a line of
work that can be interesting in the context of discussions regarding the practical
 Biosphere reserves as models of sustainable development 155

dimension of sustainability. The biosphere reserves (BRs) as protected areas maintain as

a foundational premise articulates the use with conservation and seek to become
laboratories for testing and research of sustainable development models. Models that
emerge within these protected spaces can be extrapolated beyond their limits.
The interesting thing about this approach is the idea that protected areas with the
characteristics of the BR have great natural and biodiversity richness, while they are
spaces with potential for the development of multiple uses and economic activities.
Therefore, they become ideal places to test the articulation between society and nature
and to develop new strategies linked to sustainability.
The MAB Strategy 2015–2025 sets as a challenge in this new phase of the program
accomplish the practical dimension of sustainable development through successful
experiences implemented in its World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR). This is
reflected by the vision and objectives established in the document:
• develop and strengthen models for sustainable development in the WNBR
• communicate the experiences and lessons learned, facilitating the global diffusion
and application of these models
• support the evaluation and high-quality management, strategies and policies for
sustainable development and planning, as well as accountable and resilient
institutions
• help member states and stakeholders to urgently meet the Sustainable Development
Goals through experiences from the WNBR, particularly through exploring and
testing policies, technologies and innovations for the sustainable management of
biodiversity and natural resources and mitigation and adaptation to climate change
[UNESCO, (2017b), p.7].
To achieve the vision of the program also raised four strategic objectives. These strategic
objectives are to:
1 conserve biodiversity, restore and enhance ecosystem services, and foster the
sustainable use of natural resources
2 contribute to building sustainable, healthy and equitable societies, economies and
thriving human settlements in harmony with the biosphere
3 facilitate biodiversity and sustainability science, education for sustainable
development (ESD) and capacity building
4 support mitigation and adaptation to climate change and other aspects of global
environmental change [UNESCO, (2017b), p.8].
Taking as premises this vision and objectives, have grown in importance all studies that
present results that help to understand how to move forward in that direction, how the
existing model of society could be reconverted and fundamentally how sustainable
development could be materialised.
In this sense, the vision highlights the fact of helping the member states to achieve the
objectives of sustainable development and of granting them greater institutional support
to comply with the guidelines of the strategy.
156 J.P. Morea

This intention starts from recognising that the situation is not the same for the entire
WNRB and that many of the member states have institutional weaknesses and do not
have sufficient budgets to channel planning and management processes for their national
reserve networks. This situation opens a question regarding the real possibilities that the
less developed countries or with a more recent history within the MAB Programme can
have to comply with the international guidelines and requirements. Consequently, the
studies carried out in this type of BR charge a particular interest.
Based on the foregoing, this paper presents a case study on the Parque Atlántico Mar
Chiquito Atlantic Biosphere Reserve in Argentina. The main objectives have been
conducting an analysis on the current management model of the reserve; analyse the
capacities of the reserve to face the future challenges posed by the MAB Programme, and
to evaluate the potential of establishing a sustainable development model in the reserve.
To achieve this, was designed a specific evaluation methodology to carry out an analysis
of the present activities and the ways of using the space; and an evaluation of the state of
the planning, the current management model and the factors that condition the land use
planning. As a result of this it was possible to establish critical and strategic territorial
units as key factors to make recommendations to promote sustainable use of the BR.

2 Materials and methods

2.1 Study area

Argentina has a long tradition of biodiversity conservation. The MAB Programme has
been no exception and currently the National Network of Biosphere Reserves includes
15 protected spaces totalling an area of more than 11 million hectares.
Parque Atlántico Mar Chiquito Biosphere Reserve (PAMCBR) was chosen as a case
study because of its importance for the regional and international context for the
conservation of biodiversity, but also for the development of numerous uses and
activities. In the Southeast coast of South America (East of Argentina, Uruguay and
South of Brazil) there is an extensive area of coastal lagoons which cover 12.2% of its
coasts and are connected to the Atlantic Ocean, within Mar Chiquita is included.
Due to their hydrological functioning, their extension and their environmental quality,
these lagoons are world-unique sites for the conservation and study of natural processes
and anthropic impact (Beltrame, 2008).
The PAMCBR was declared as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the year 1996. It is
in the Mar Chiquita Party, on the southeast coast of the Province of Buenos Aires,
Argentina (37° 32’ at 37° 45’S and 57° 19’ at 57° 26’W). It has a total area of 46 km2
with a tributary basin of 10,000 km2. It is separated from the ocean by a wide chain of
dunes developed in the Pleistocene and its connection to the open ocean is made through
a channel of approximately 6 km long, 200 m wide and a depth that varies between 3 m
and 0.5 m. In addition to the specific surface of the lagoon, the rest of the surrounding
territories that make up the BR must be considered, reaching 26,488 hectares (Cousseau
et al., 2003). The study area is represented in Figure 1.
 Biosphere reserves as models of sustainable development 157

Figure 1 Study area (see online version for colours)

The population with permanent residence is not numerous. Currently, the number of
permanent settlers barely exceeds 500 inhabitants, while seasonal residents constitute
approximately another 3,000. The economic activities historically present in Mar
Chiquita are livestock, agriculture and artisanal fishing. The complement has been the
tourist and recreational activity. Although the reserve has never been characterised as a
very popular tourist destination.
158 J.P. Morea

2.2 The operational framework

The evaluation process is composed of three phases or stages: analysis of planning and
management; analysis of uses and activities; identification of critical and strategic units.
The design of flexible type allowed combining in a same research different theoretical
perspective, data sources, methods, and techniques. In this case, it helped to combine
methodological strategies such as documentary research and case study, with data
construction techniques such as participant observation, field notes, photographic records
and semi-structured interviews. According to the techniques and methods used, the
approach can be divided into two main phases: data collection and construction; data
analysis.

2.3 Data collection and construction

The documentary research and the bibliographic review were considered essential
methodological strategies to deepen the knowledge about the unit of analysis. Technical
documents were used, assessments and official documents. Statistical data were analysed
at regional and local level, plans of the reserve, internal and external evaluations
conducted by NGOs and government agencies.
During the fieldwork, prevailed techniques such as field observations and
semi-structured interviews and unstructured. Field observations were used to conduct
surveys of different sectors, equipment and infrastructure and tourist attractions. Territory
recognition tasks were organised through photographic records and field notes. Sectors,
mobility networks and points of interest were recognised using a GPS device. The
combination of these techniques enabled the description, characterisation and
understanding of the unit of analysis as a complex territorial system.
The semi-structured interview allowed a modality with a script of themes and
objectives that were considered important, but at the same time contemplated a margin of
freedom and flexibility. This type of interviews was designed specifically for
interviewees involved in the management of the protected space. We use a list of
15 questions to obtain essential information regarding three main axes: planning,
management and land use planning.
The unstructured interview, on the other hand, was not based on a list of specific
topics. This type of interviews was considered appropriate to access a selected group of
key informants, made up of residents, businessmen, tour operators and local users.
A total of 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted between the months of
March and November 2016. As Mar Chiquita is a small town the sample population
covered all conservation workers, the most recognised local researchers, and all
government or management personnel involve. Within this last group were included the
mayor of the locality inserted within the reserve, the responsible for the tourist office and
the area of environment and planning. A total of 30 unstructured interviews were
conducted between January and March 2017. The size of the sampled population
it appropriated to cover all the stakeholder groups in the BR including farmers,
conservation workers, local research experts, traders, residents, tour operator, fishermen
and tourists. The choice of the sample was made identifying people of different ages, of
greater antiquity living in the area, and those who occupy positions of power or
leadership.
 Biosphere reserves as models of sustainable development 159

2.4 Data analysis

According to the methodological design, was articulated a triangulation on three axes: the
bibliographic survey, the field works and the interviews. The process was developed
continuously and over a relationship of multiple influences. The information obtained in
the written documents could be contrasted with the reality, while the statements of the
interviewees and the field records could not only validate each other, but also in their
comparison with the bibliographic sources. The processing of the interviews has allowed
identifying certain patterns for each of the topics addressed, which mark the visions or
the coinciding criteria between the different actors.

2.4.1 Analysis of planning and management

This analysis is essential to understand the objectives, functionalities, and regulations
regarding permitted and prohibited activities within the reserve. These analyses were
structured based on certain axes that were considered fundamental. In relation to planning
and land use planning, the main topics were:
a the objectives of the protected area
b the existence of current plans
c the existence of land-use guidelines
d the size, design and zoning of the reserve.
Regarding to management was considered:
a management body
b main management strategies
c deficiencies and problems.

2.4.2 Analysis of uses and activities

BRs are internationally recognised protected areas with multiple functions such as
conservation, research, monitoring, training, and sustainable development. One of the
objectives of this work is to analyse the use of the reserve, understanding its dynamics
and functioning, its territorial structure and its spatial dimension. Through this, it is
intended to reach an understanding about what could be called real use of space. It is
important in this phase the concept of territorial structure that understands the economic
activities present in a territory, from the elements implanted in the space organised
according to places of production, places of consumption and their physical and
functional interconnections (Sánchez Crispín et al., 2012).
This form of approach to the use of space is what allows us to analyse the
concordance between the forecasts of use of the zoning schemes and existing plans and
the effective or actual functioning of the protected space. The surveys of different sectors
were essential, as well as interviews with managers and especially the dialogue with key
informants.
During the fieldwork, were surveyed points of interest, sectors and functional
interconnections through a GPS; digital images of Google Maps were processed and
160 J.P. Morea

thematic cartography of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of

Argentina was used. Part of the processing of the data included the preparation of
thematic cartography necessary for the identification of incompatibilities and conflicts of
use and for the definition of strategic and critical units.

2.4.3 Identification of critical and strategic zones

The identification of critical and strategic zones arises from the analysis on the real use of
space. These zones must be understood as contested spaces, which combine the interest
of different sectors and are at the same time important for conservation. The recognition
on the territory of the uses present in the reserve and the analysis of the discrepancies
between the intended uses and the real uses allow establishing incompatibilities and
conflicts of use.
The critical and strategic zones reflect the territorial dimension of these conflicts and
facilitate the identification on the map or the zoning scheme of the reserve those sites that
require special attention for decision making regarding the management of the protected
area.

3 Result

3.1 Planning and management

The axes in which were divided the analysis allowed the identification of criteria and
patterns reflected in Table 1. This table summarise the result of the interviews and
presents a synthesis of some coinciding aspects of many interviewees, social actors and
information gathered in different documents.
Table 1 Main result of interviews

Axes Criteria and patterns identified

Planning
Objectives of the BR
Currents plans
Land use guidelines
Design and zoning
Management
Management body
Management strategies
Deficiencies and problems
Biodiversity conservation and achieve the articulation with
economic activities
There is no management plan. There are operational plans for
control tasks.
No land use plan. Classification of municipal lands and
provincial law of protected areas as the only instruments.
There is a non-legally constituted consensus zoning. 66% of
private lands limit design and zoning.
The responsible for the BR is the municipality of Mar Chiquita.
Management committee constituted since 2017.
Control and monitoring tasks and annual operational plans as
unique strategies.
Lack of economic resources; lack of coordination and
articulation between sectors.
 Biosphere reserves as models of sustainable development 161

The BR was declared by UNESCO in 1996. As established by the declaration itself, the
management of this reserve must oversee the Municipality of Mar Chiquita. However, the
creation of a stable management body is one of the main weaknesses of this reserve. In
the 22 years of existence only during the periods 2004–2010 and 2017 up to the present
ran a Management Committee.
The absence of a specific management body and with clear competencies for the
reserve not only limits the management of the protected area, but it is also a determining
factor of many of the deficiencies found with respect to planning and land use
management.
The only planning processes that are carried out are currently the annual operational
plans (AOP) developed by the park rangers. These plans are sectoral and limited to a
series of subprograms: control and surveillance, fishing and hunting control, animal
rescue, fire, science support, housing and visitor assistance.
There is then no plan that defines comprehensive management programs or actions,
but there are also some other instruments that can be used. A clear example is the
periodic review document of the BR prepared in 2010 that contains elements that serve to
channel certain actions. The identification of zones of importance for birds and fish, the
zoning map and some of the negative impacts revealed in that report are very useful to try
to carry out tasks of management and control over the space.
Another instrument that is used for management is Provincial Law 10.907 that
regulates protected areas and that constitutes the strongest tool to establish controls over
the reserve. In addition, as the urban area of the Mar Chiquita locality is included, the
local ordinances have applied over the territory of the reserve. The most influential are
the classification of land uses, which fundamentally differentiates the urban from the
productive land; the prohibitions of camping, and circulation of vehicles by the beach.
The control authorities for these activities are the local and the rural police.
The analysis carried out to establish that there is a matching vision to consider the
conservation of biodiversity and the articulation with economic activities as the main
objective of the protected area. However, in the absence of a management plan, this
objective is fundamentally supported by the guidelines established by UNESCO for its
worldwide network of BRs.
Something similar happens with zoning, the limits and the design of the reserve. The
more specific reference is in the above-mentioned periodic review document. There
exists a zoning scheme that was agreed between different actors and responds to the
design proposed by UNESCO for this type of reserves, dividing the space into three large
groups: core zone, buffer zone and transition zone.
However, it is recognised that the zoning established in the document is not legally
constituted and that it is very limited by the conditions of land tenure. Moreover,
regarding the boundaries and size of the protected area, it is mentioned that it was created
on a remnant of public land and was conditioned in turn by political and administrative
pre-existing limits and the characteristics of the natural environment.
Following with the views expressed in this document, it was decided that the private
domain areas (66% of the total area of the reserve) should be established as a transition
zone due to the impossibility of establishing use regulations. The surface of the lagoon
was designated as a buffer zone, instituting restrictions of use and protecting certain areas
considered important for the settlement of birds and fish.
162 J.P. Morea

It is important to highlight that the fact of not having a legally constituted zoning, in
the view of some interviewees is almost equivalent to not having zoning. This legal
weakness results in the inaccuracy of the boundaries and in a zoning scheme that does not
have a planning logic that goes beyond respecting the ownership of the land.
Regarding the major deficiencies and problems there is coincidence with respect to
three main axes. From an integral point of view of the management and land use the lack
of a management body with clear competencies is the mother problem. On the other
hand, there is a lack of coordination, articulation and joint work between the different
levels of the administration and the private sector. Finally, there is the shortage of
resources and funding to carry out the tasks of supervision and control.
Because of these three axes, from different sectors of the municipal government has
expressed, during the interviews the need to establish a management plan that includes a
public use plan. This should serve to order the current activities and to define guidelines
and restrictions of use.

3.2 Analysis of uses and activities

In the lands of private domains, livestock and agriculture are practiced and there are two
fishing spots located inside the lagoon. The territories controlled by the provincial public
administration coincide with the core area of the reserve where conservation, research,
environmental education and ecotourism activities are carried out. The rest of the
territories coincide with the village, the surface of the lagoon and the waterfront are
controlled by the local administration and where homes and much of the tourist and
recreational activities take place.
Once the uses and activities have been identified and located in the protected area, it
is necessary to understand the dynamics and functioning to determine the real use of the
space and understand the territorial structure of the reserve. Initially, it is necessary to
define important nuclei for the activities, spatial channels that articulate each activity and
the flows that are created from this spectrum. In the fieldworks were identified the main
nuclei that articulate use are: the lagoon and its mouth, the waterfront area and ranger
station 1. The spatial channels in this reserve are well differentiated. The main ones are
represented by route 11, the main access road to the reserve and the entire layout of the
urban area.
Complementary, there are other formal ways that allow access to particular sectors
such as access to fishing breaks, income to some private fields and entry to the CELPA
base. To these networks it is necessary to add informal communication channels such as
accesses to the beach, the use of different channels and various trails or tracks that are
found within private fields and are used mostly by hunters and poachers.
Regarding flows and dynamics that acquire the protected area there are some factors
that act as conditioning. On the one hand, several interviewees have agreed to observe
that the flow of people is limited by the hostility of the environment that makes it difficult
to access certain sectors and by the large size of the private fields that prevent access to
certain areas of the reserve.
These two factors contribute to the control of the protected area by limiting the free
movement. However, there is also an irregular or little controlled dynamic that is
associated with the lack of a legally constituted zoning, the lack of education and
environmental awareness and the great lack of signage and demarcation of boundaries
and zones in the territory.
 Biosphere reserves as models of sustainable development 163

To fully understand the real use of space, it is also necessary to focus on evolution
and changes in certain practices. Different people who have been linked to the reserve for
many years have been able to observe the emergence of new trends. There is a
coincidence, among the researchers interviewed, in pointing out that the use of space has
increased a lot in recent years.
These changes that can transform the dynamics of space use in the medium and
long-term are related to recreation, productive and urban expansion activities. What is
observed is that agriculture has advanced a lot and nowadays there are farming operations
where there was not before. Livestock has also grown because of the scarcity of
territories outside the reserve’s boundaries.
From the vision of the municipality, urban expansion is a concern. Although there are
still no major changes in the reserve, there are many projects and interests to develop
urbanisation in the coastal sector of the Mar Chiquita. The population of permanent
residence has had a moderate growth, but the potential advance of the project of the
private neighbourhood ‘Lagos del Mar’ could reach a dimension that would exceed the
size of the existing urban area.

Figure 2 Territorial structure of Mar Chiquita BR (see online version for colours)

On the other hand, recreational activities have also been modified. Water sports have
increased and new practices such as kite surfing have appeared, which have significantly
altered the dynamics of use of the lagoon. Regarding the income of tourists, there is an
164 J.P. Morea

increase in the locality of Mar Chiquita and the presence of users in the beach and lagoon
sectors. All these elements allow to define the BR as a territorial system and to
characterise its territorial structure. In Figure 2, this structure is represented and the actual
use of the space is reflected.

3.3 Critical and strategic zones

From the definition of the territorial structure of public use and the determination of the
differences between the intended use and the actual use of space it is possible to identify
a series of conflicts. Conflicts in conservation can be classified into various types
according to their origin (Baynham-Herd et al., 2018; Vucetich et al., 2018). In this case,
these are conflicts over land use, defined by Hersperger et al. (2015) as situations in
which involved parties or constituents have incompatible interests concerning the use of a
certain parcel of land
The analyses carried out in the previous sections indicate that a substantial part of the
difficulties in implementing the management programs are due to unresolved conflicts. In
this way, it is possible to identify four different types of conflicts:
1 conflicts between uses and conservation
2 conflicts due to incompatibilities between different uses and activities
3 conflicts at the institutional and political level
4 conflicts due to changes in land use.
Table 2 shows the main manifestations of the conflicts within each typology. Field work
in the reserve also allowed to identify the territorial dimension of them.
Table 2 Territorial conflicts identified

Type of conflict Manifestation Territoriality

Use and conservation Furtive hunting and fishing; circulation of Core and transition zone;
vehicles through improper zones; practice private fields, coastal
of nautical activities in areas of importance front, lagoon
for birds and shooting practices
Incompatibilities Boat fishing, kayaking, kite surfing, Mouth of the lagoon,
between uses fishing from shore, bathers. waterfront.
Political-institutional Municipality, province, national army, The whole territory of
private fields. the reserve.
Land use changes Agriculture-livestock activities; urban Transition zone; private
expansion. fields.

The so-called conflicts between use and conservation arise from the existence of interests
to develop activities that at some point contradict the conservation objectives. As Table 2
reflects, these conflicts take place in a large part of the core and transition zones. The
main accesses identified are through the private fields, the margins of different channels,
by the beach sector, accessing from the North, and in some cases by kayak from the
mouth of the lagoon to the interior.
Regarding conflicts between uses and activities, they are not uses that are
incompatible in themselves; it is about the uses that become dysfunctional when
 Biosphere reserves as models of sustainable development 165

overlapping and having to live in a limited space. When the location and distribution of
uses and activities was analysed, it could be seen that the highest concentration occurs in
the mouth of the lagoon. For this reason, the interviewees coincided in identifying this
sector as the most conflicting of the entire reserve.
As expressed by the Secretariats of Tourism and Environment, since there is not a
land management of this area or any other type of regulation, each of the users of the
place behaves freely in this sector. This leads at certain times to the appearance of
conflicts between the different users.
The level of conflicts defined as political-institutional is rooted in a complex inter
jurisdictional framework and a situation regarding the domain of the land. This type of
conflicts appears within the framework of this complexity and because of the lack of
definition of management competencies.
The main conflict of this typology is the impossibility of building an overall vision
for the BR that is adopted and representative of the interests and objectives of all sectors.
The necessary agreements have not been reached to advance real territorial integration
processes that allow flexibility in institutional barriers and progress in the planning and
management of the reserve. Even though the municipal government has the responsibility
to manage this BR, the limited territorial dominion that possesses is a factor of generation
of conflicts at the time of establishing comprehensive management strategies for the
protected area.
Finally, conflicts over land use change in Mar Chiquita have been associated with
processes generated mainly by two types of activities: agriculture and livestock; and
urban expansion. The expansion process, especially of soybean crops in the province of
Buenos Aires, has displaced livestock and the production of other crops towards marginal
or lower yielding lands. This situation has already become visible in Mar Chiquita and
the need for new productive lands can lead not only to a greater increase in these
practices within the reserve, but perhaps, to the intention of disaffecting these lands as
part of it.
On the other hand, the control of urbanisation and real estate speculation was one of
the key elements identified by the Mayor of the locality when preparing a management
plan or a land use plan of the reserve. The biggest current conflict is the progress of the
private neighbourhood project ‘Lagos del Mar’ for its intention to transform a sector of
the transition zone into a large urban space.
The continuity of this project materialises the conflict in a double sense. The first,
constituted by the suppression of those lands as a transition zone with the impacts that
urbanisation could generate, and the second, by the antecedent of the appropriation
methodology used. Approval of changes in land use in the context of a reservation with
66% of private lands could mean refuncionalisación virtually all the buffer and transition
zones.
Because of all these conflicts, a series of problems and negative impacts are recorded
in the protected area. During the field works was possible to observe the circulation of
vehicles by prohibiting zones, the pressure of the animals, the burning or the replacement
of the pasture for agricultural activities, the contamination of the water bodies, the
beaches and the urban zones; the use of fertilisers on soils and water, coastal erosion on
beaches and burning or fires in fields and forest relicts.
166 J.P. Morea

Figure 3 Critical and strategic zones (see online version for colours)
 Biosphere reserves as models of sustainable development 167

The critical zones must be understood from the different types of conflicts identified
above and are constituted as the territorial dimension to them. However, the identification
of these zones also depends on the environmental variables. Considering the
characteristics of Mar Chiquita, some areas of importance for the conservation of birds
and grasslands have been identified.
The identification of these areas is important to visualise the overlap or proximity that
the main uses of the reserve have with these areas of environmental importance.
Although the number of areas of importance that could be identified is broader, we chose
to represent those that are at greater risk due to pressure exerted by other present uses or
potential interests.
The main results of the analyses performed and the field works realised in the case
study allowed to determine four main areas: areas of improper circulation of vehicles,
areas of conflict of use, areas of expansion of productive activities and areas with mix
production. The main findings of the case study are represented in Figure 3, were critical
zones and areas of importance are identified.
As the main area of conflicts of use was identified the mouth of the lagoon, this space
is the one that combines the greatest diversity of uses within the reserve. Regarding the
circulation of vehicles, the most critical areas are on the beaches of the urban area and in
the entrance to the reserve by the North sector.
Finally, were identified mixed production areas and zones of potential expansion of
economic activities. These zones coincidentally represent territories with current and
potential interests for the development of economic activities and sites of importance for
the conservation of birds and pastures.
Mixed production zones represent the already recorded expansion of agriculture and
livestock. On the other hand, the areas of potential expansion, identify those sectors
where the risk of changes in land use is greater, either due to the proximity to existing
productive undertakings or because of the manifest interests of carrying out other types of
uses in that sector (such is the case the case of the private neighbourhood Lagos del Mar).
The close relationship and the effects that critical areas have towards conservation
turn these critical areas into strategic zones. These zones indicate which are the spaces
that require the most attention and the implementation of management measures that
allow to better order the use. The resolution of situations of conflict and the proper
management of these areas can be constituted as an important strategy to promote a
sustainable development model.

4 Recommendations for management

This identification of strategic zones, together with other elements of the results
presented, constitutes an input to propose recommendations to move towards a potential
model of sustainable development. Based on the analyses carried out around this BR, it’s
possible to identify a set of premises or axes that represent the main needs or issues to be
resolved:
• Institutional strengthening and coordination of the three levels of the State based on a
system of shared management of the territory.
168 J.P. Morea

• Citizen participation and articulation between the public and private sectors,
especially to the owners of the land.
• Development of patterns of land use and use of resources.
Now, specifying these premises is not a simple matter and will require adopting a set of
measures or carrying out certain actions that for the purposes of this work can be
reflected through a series of recommended guidelines:
• A regulatory framework should be fostered to facilitate planning and land use
management.
• The agreements to be formalised between the municipal, provincial and national
governments are essential to establish roles and responsibilities in the land use
planning processes.
• The municipal government must renew the land classification and agree compatible
uses prior to the preparation of future plans and the definition of a zoning scheme.
• The local government should promote formal agreements with the private sector to
define limits, zoning and usage patterns.
• A management body should be setup for the reserve that includes management
programs in both public and private domain lands.
• Critical and strategic units should guide diverse strategies and management
programs.
• It will be necessary to create a profile of use within the reserve, defining desired and
unwanted activities to face changes in land use. This should be done based on the
potentialities and territorial identity.
These recommendations are directly related to the established premises and reflect a
deeper concept, which is directly linked to the idea of articulating use and conservation as
the main objective of the reserve. At the same time, they are oriented with the intention
that the reserve becomes a model of inspiration for sustainable practices of the members
of the community of Mar Chiquita, which may extend beyond the limits of the protected
area.
The main objective must be to change the conditions under which economic activities
are currently carried out, linked to a form of sustainable exploitation. But the biggest
challenge will be to ensure that this new form of exploitation provides business
opportunities, the generation of differential products and increase of economic rewards,
in conditions such that it is possible to guarantee a long-term environmental balance.
It is fundamental to generate forms of exploitation and business models that provide
the landowners with an alternative of differentiation and sufficient economic rewards so
that they can commit themselves to conservation.
The recommendation that can be made is to think about the use of space not as an
isolated issue, but through the development of a social-environmental strategy. A strategy
that finally achieves that the MAB model can be seen by the different actors as an
opportunity to renew and reinvent the economic activities they develop, while
contributing to the conservation of the environment.
 Biosphere reserves as models of sustainable development 169

From this situation, it would be possible to create a management model that could be
managed entirely by the public sector or under a mixed public-private figure. But, the
differential would be its articulation through functional areas and work groups dedicated
to the resolution of specific tasks in which the private sector participates actively.

5 Discussion

The results of this work are within the problematic of interest on the BRs identified by
the UENSCO. In principle, the scope of this study shows that this reserve is somewhat
relegated to the requirements and lines of action that the MAB Programme has been
generating internationally. In that sense, it can be said that the presented approach has
allowed evaluating some aspects that are considered of great interest in this program in
the years to come.
Most of the assessment carried out in this study refers to topics that are reflected in
some of the results expected by UNESCO through the implementation of the MAB
Strategy 2015–2025:
• The role of the MAB Programme in research and experimentation towards models
and solutions of sustainable development, including their global diffusion, is
strengthened.
• BRs act as models for exploring, establishing and demonstrating sustainable
economic systems that positively affect the conservation of biodiversity and its
sustainable use.
• Effective, equitable and participatory planning for sustainable development in BRs
specifically takes into account the rights, needs and capacities of young people, as
well as women and indigenous and local communities, and their ownership, and
access to and sustainable use of natural resources in and around BRs.
• States, local government, international organisations and the private sector support
BRs through the effective use of the ecosystem approach, to ensure the continued
delivery of ecosystem services both within BRs and to the wider communities that
rely on their provision for their health and well-being.
• Each BR has an active research program, based on the principles of sustainability
science, which provides the basis of participatory decision-making and management
in the BR.
• BRs act as models to explore, establish and demonstrate innovative approaches that
foster the resilience of communities and opportunities for youth, through livelihood
diversification, green businesses and social enterprise, including responsible tourism
and quality economies [UNESCO, (2017b), p.9].
In this regard, the approach developed presents a contribution both to the analysis of
certain key factors of a case study, as to make recommendations that seek to promote a
better linkage between the reserve and UNESCO to facilitate the achievement of the
objectives and current and future guidelines for this type of reserves.
170 J.P. Morea

On the other hand, the results of this work can be associated with a line of studies
interested in the planning and management of BR, and particularly in sustainable
development. The diversity of studies and approaches proposed worldwide on these
issues is very broad and it is impossible to reflect them in their entirety. However, it is
interesting to note that in recent years there have been proliferating studies dedicated to
assessing the relationship between conservation and development, adaptive management
or co-management, the planning of uses and productive activities, or the influence and
importance of the stakeholders (Ferrero and Elías, 2015; Reed, 2016; Bouamrane et al.,
2016; Plummer et al., 2017; Lyon et al., 2017; Bridgewater and Babin, 2017; Hernes and
Metzger, 2017; Baird et al., 2018; Bennett and Satterfield, 2018). Other studies are
related to the effective application of the BR model (Cuong et al., 2017; Van Cuong
et al., 2017; Kratzer, 2018; Garzo et al., 2019; Kratzer and Ammering, 2019; Lee, 2019).
The existence of this type of research, among many others, highlights the importance
of the topic addressed in this article. However, this case study – unlike others – presents a
methodology designed from a territorial vision that weighted to the management of the
use of space as a strategy for improving the conservation actions and achieve
sustainability.

6 Conclusions

The approach carried out presents an evaluation methodology covered in an analysis of

space use and management. This methodology allowed to obtain information regarding
certain factors related to the planning, operation and dynamics of the protected area as a
territorial system. The results obtained from this evaluation have made it possible to
contextualise the reality of Mar Chiquita in relation to the future challenges and horizons
planted by the MAB Programme in recent years.
From the results obtained it is possible to conclude that Mar Chiquita is not able to
face such challenges. This is so, because it denotes a considerable backwardness in the
scope of basic objectives that would allow meeting the requirements of this new stage.
The BR has not yet been able to advance on some issues that for the program are
considered basic or elementary.
In this sense, an important gap is recognised between the current situation of this
reserve and the scenario envisaged by the MAB Programme. This gap originates from
significant deficiencies in structural aspects related to the lack of planning processes, to
the difficulties in establishing a land use management and to institutional weaknesses and
lack of coordination that prevent carrying out an efficient management model. In relation
to these aspects, one of the contributions of this work has been to establish a series of
recommendations to address some of these shortcomings as an initial and necessary stage
to move towards the construction of a model of sustainable development.
Assessing the potential of establishing a model of sustainable development in the
reserve was the main objective of this work. If we start from the basis to understand that a
fundamental step towards achieving sustainability is to ensure proper coordination
between use and conservation and a conversion of certain economic and traditional
production practices, Mar Chiquita is distant from that great goal.
The conflicting and dysfunctional relationship society-nature and the confrontation
between those who prioritise conservation and those who seek to impose any other type
of use that is more profitable in economic terms will continue to exist. While we cannot
 Biosphere reserves as models of sustainable development 171

establish major agreements at different scales on how we want to project our societies in
relation to the territories and environments we inhabit, these conflicts will continue to
exist and sustainable development will not be possible to achieve.
In a context where there is still a long way to go in terms of how to achieve
sustainable development and how we can evaluate and measure it, it is necessary to
develop new tools and approaches. The major contribution of this work may be the
development of a study with a methodological proposal based on a territorial vision that
proposes an evaluation of the use of space aimed at identifying key factors and strategic
areas that may be important to define management actions for the protected area.
The identification of critical and strategic zones can be a very useful tool to seek to
reduce territorial conflicts or favour compatibility between use and conservation or
between different uses and activities. This type of proposals may be interesting to
facilitate the passage from traditional development models to models covered in
sustainability. Or they may be of interest to achieve transformations from the
management of the use of space as a strategy to promote sustainable practices or more in
harmony with the environment.
Ultimately, although it can be said that in the current conditions does not seem
feasible to establish a model of sustainable development in Mar Chiquita, it might be
thought that through a proposal of land use management and a reduction in the level of
conflict could move in that direction.

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