MULTIFUNCTIONAL LANDSCAPES AND SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS: A CASE STUDY ON PRODUCTIVE SECTORS OF RANCHERÍA RIVER BASIN, GUAJIRA, COLOMBIA

Abstract

This study quantifies the economic contributions of the different productive sectors in the Ranchería River basin from 1980 to the present, according to official information available from the DNP, La Guajira’s Chamber of Commerce, and other sources. The study provides a comparative analysis of the economic benefits derived by direct users of the Ranchería River basin in the Colombian Guajira region, contrasting the economic valuation of direct uses by agricultural, livestock, and mining activities with the main socioeconomic indicators (e.g. GDP, poverty, unsatisfied basic needs) of the basin’s municipalities. The economic valuation was made with the market price methodology using information by subsectors of each one of the branches of economic activity. For a better understanding of the relationship between territorial dynamics and the basin’s economy, the study presents some maps capturing vegetation cover and land use in the basin area using available archival geographic information systems, mainly from the Colombian Geographic Institute (IGAC), over different periods.