Social Capital work in Llulan Parón subwatershed

By Fabio Azzolin *

As I walked towards a man resting in the shade of a tree I had the feeling as if at that precise moment he was only thinking about his life, about his future and the future of his family. He was worried; how can he provide for all of his family’s needs. I could almost hear his thoughts. “The economic situation of the community is so difficult now! Every day I work so hard for my family, selling my products in the market, but nothing seems to have improved. In addition we have problems with these multinationals that want our land, our water. But we will not let them exploit our land”.

These were the thoughts of a peasant farmer who works hard every day to earn more for his family’s subsistence and to continue cultivating his crops without too many troubles. Currently the market doesn’t seem to help him or the community and his frustration is increasing as two local water- and land-related conflicts persist.

The first conflict involves Duke Energy, an hydroelectric company that has been exploiting the Paron lake. The company’s actions have created problems with water availability and quality, which in turn have diminished the efficiency of locals’ crops and negatively affected their health (most of them drink water from the lake). At the same time, another conflict has recently arisen with a mining company that wants to exploit a piece of land located partly inside the community, but also close to the Huascaran National Park. The company’s activities could potentially contaminate the water in both locations.

I am writing about the mountain community of Cruz de Mayo in Caraz, located in the province of Huaylas in the Ancash region of Peru. This zone is characterized by a big valley that is fed by the Santa River. The river has become the source of multiple conflicts regarding access and management of the water. CONDESAN, the leader of the CPWF coordination and change project in the Andes, provides support to the AN3 project, which studies the implementation of Benefit-Sharing Mechanisms (BSMs) in pilot areas including the Santa River basin, with the purpose of providing a model that can offer opportunities for increased rural livelihood security and poverty reduction. In this context, my sociological investigation aims to examine this model, pointing out the social peculiarities that have been frequently forgotten in past research.

The aim is to understand the depth of the conflicts and find venues to understand how whatever resources the community has (especially in terms of existing and potential social capital) can be used to transform the bleak outlook of destruction of the environment that communities seem to share when they think about the entrance of companies that seek to attain economic benefits from the environment.

The study of community social characteristics can be beneficial for everyone because it can help define the best ways to deal with these conflicts. Understanding the peculiarities of a community is a complex task. However, if successful, it can allow us to value the potential behaviors and reactions of the community in a complex situation. Moreover, it can show us how to manage the negative characteristics of the community while at the same time which positive peculiarities we can improve.

Over the course of this investigation I’ve met and interviewed many institutional actors in the cities of Caraz and Huaraz (the capital of the Ancash region) and I’ve examined the characteristics of the peasant community, speaking with its leaders and participating in local community celebrations, like the “Día del campesino” (Day of the peasant).

The members of the Cruz de Mayo community —a community that appears very united and strong— have joined forces against those they perceive to be their two major enemies (the hydroelectric and mining companies). But this doesn’t mean that this is an optimal scenario, because on the other hand, this unity has isolated this group in respect to other populations, individuals and groups.

In addition, I perceive a lack of a good connection (cooperation) between cities and communities in the valley, for example between Caraz and Huaraz (eight hours from Lima). From my interviews I’ve come to understand that the significant distance is a result of the egocentric visions that characterize the administrations of these populations. Their actions negatively impact the entire population of the valley, which should be collaborating and cooperating to find the best way towards integrated and harmonic development. The case of the Cruz de Mayo community reflects a problem that seems to affect all the Callejón de Huaylas.

The condition of the road infrastructure stresses this isolation because from Caraz to the community there is only a mountain dirt road in very bad condition, which becomes even worse during the rainy season. The main road between Caraz and Huaraz (66 km) also in very bad condition, has just been repaired. However, to reduce the distance to Lima and help to develop the tourism industry in Caraz and the surrounding communities a road that links Caraz to Chimbote (on the coast) would be necessary.

These elements are what I’ve perceived during my first field study. The next step will be to analyze the community from the inside through participatory observation; this will give me a range of diverse perspectives on its specific traits, contributing significantly to the investigation.

The aim after that is to prepare a comprehensive document, to share with institutional and civil society actors and the community, where it may prove useful in negotiation of the conflicts. Additionally, the document will give the AN3 project some inputs to consider in the design of the BSM.

I was still walking towards that man, reflecting on his hypothetical future. ”How is it possible that a company wants to destroy a wonderful territory?”

But at the same time I was feeling lucky because I was walking along the river, near the “green landscape”, in contact with the great environment.

In spite of everything, my mind could breathe, full of positive thoughts.

* Fabio is part of the AN4 and works as an intern in the social component of the CPWF project. He is an Italian sociologist of environment and territory who conducts research on the social characteristics of communities living in marginal areas. He loves to discover and learn new elements, with the expectation also to find his way. At this time, with CONDESAN, he is learning to improve his research and analysis of the social capital of a rural community affected by socio-environmental conflicts.