Urban wetlands, their dynamics and management strategies from the perspective of Environmental Geography

Abstract

The environment is a central axis of academic discussion, but even so, there are theoretical difficulties in understanding environmental problems. Environmental Geography provides arguments to articulate the relationships between society and nature and the possibility of focusing on the environmental system as an object of study. The aim of this article is to provide theoretical, methodological and operational elements for the evaluation of the interrelationship between wetland ecosystems and urban localities in Uruguay based on three case studies and analysing them from the theoretical and conceptual context of Environmental Geography. The methodological strategy is based on a multi-scale analysis: at the national scale, studying the situation of the interrelationship between wetlands and urban areas, and at the basin scale, case studies are selected to address the specific conditions of the relationship. In Uruguay, 50% of urban localities are located in wetland territories, but no national strategy can be identified to solve the problem of flooding events in urban areas. Environmental Geography offers the possibility of making the interrelationships between urban spaces and the environments where they develop visible as it makes it possible to analyse the causes of the problem at the basin level in order to achieve sustainable management.