Aymara Indian Perspectives on Development in the Andes

Chapter 6. Aymara Responses to a Changing Environment

6 / Ay­ mara Responses to a Changing Environment K’utarapxiw quqanakasxa, ukatxa phichantapxarakiw, quqa tunu lawanaks jik’irapxi, ukatsi janipuniw jik’supkit qhuya tunu saphanakasxa. “One should take pride in one’s land and culture. There is a popu­ lar saying in Aymara, ‘They cut our branches, they burn our leaves, they pull out our trunks . . . but never could they overtake our roots.’ This was addressed to the Spaniards.” — Ay­ mara agriculturist of Chile (Ay­ mara translation by Justino Llanque-­ Chana, personal communication, 15 April 2002) This chapter presents the perspectives and specific concerns expressed by the Ay­ mara people of Region XV regarding development within their cultural landscape . The direct responses are based on interviews with Ay­ mara agriculturists, pastoralists, artisans, educators, pub­ lic and municipal servants, miners, proprietors , and shopkeepers. Every person interviewed was given the opportunity to discuss her or his personal and collective perceptions and experiences concerning environmental transformation in the Andes. An attempt was made to represent Ay­ mara perspectives from each eco­ logi­ cal life zone, from littoral to the Cordillera . Gender is a significant consideration in ethnography and may influence responses (Stoffle et al. 1998a:46). Ay­ mara mitigation recommendations reflect a highly detailed and practical knowledge of their resources and should be seriously considered and adopted by developers and government agencies in view of the negative social, environmental, and economic effects of development on the Ay­ mara community. Along an altitudinal gradient, Ay­ mara perspectives on the paving of International Chile Highway 11, the diversion of highland waters for irrigation and hydro­ electricity, and the creation of Parque Nacional Lauca are diverse. High­ way construction is linked to the other development projects and is a significant and occasionally primary factor associated with impacts. Roads are implicit in rural development in the Andes, but they constitute only one variable among many that are essential for integrated sustainable development in the region .Otherpo­liti­cal,social,andenvironmentalfactorsinteractalongwithinfrastructural development to produce many impacts. An assessment of the effects Aymara Responses to a Changing Environment / 189 of highway development must account for these other influencing factors. Eco­ logi­cal and cultural conditions and human activity patterns on the Altiplano, in the Precordillera, and in the interior differ greatly from those in the lower valley zones. There is a his­tori­cal and locational relationship between transport development and agricultural development. In general, areas close to roads and markets are more likely to experience agricultural improvement than areas that are farther away. There is of­ten a direct correlation between access to and distance from the road and market and the level of agricultural productivity (Devres, Incorporated 1980:44–48). Precipitation is not regular in the Atacama Desert, and water scarcity compounded by water appropriation places agropastoral existence in jeopardy. Development planners must be mindful of the environmental uncertainties affecting life in the Andes prior to planning. There should be ongoing consultation withAy­marapeopleinordertounderstandtheirconcerns,needs,andlivelihood strategies. Environmental transformation has altered the Ay­ mara cultural landscape and the long-­ established equilibrium of reciprocal relations between the Ay­ mara and their resources, thus placing their methods of adaptation in dan­ ger. The experience of a long history and collective management has given the Ay­ mara the capacity to persevere in spite of the negative disruptions to suman­jakaña (to live well, in peace and harmony and with respect; Juan de Dios Yapita , personal communication, 27 August 2012). The Ay­ mara of Chile are a vulnerable population. The net effect of development in the extreme north has contributed to the widening of employment and income disparities. In point of fact, the net effect on the employment and income of the poorest is deplorable. Complementary programs are needed to offset this tendency. Achieving the desired effects of a highway project in the Andes is likely to depend as much on corresponding programs to maximize benefits and minimize negative impacts on the Ay­mara community as on the direct results of the thoroughfare itself. Rural road projects are most successful where there is an effort toward integrated or complementary development, with the road constituting only one of several essential services (Devres, Incorporated 1980:​ 13, 20, 32). The benefits from road improvement are not evenly distributed, and the ability of the poorest to participate and gain advantage from the transformation is marginal, which contributes to their frustrations. Ay­ mara responses indicate that development projects in the Andes of Region XV have significantly affected the environmental, social, and cultural functions of their...