Sustainable development indicators for land use in Santiago, Chile

Abstract: Human transformations of land systems are considered as the largest source of change onearth (Kok, Verburg et al. 2007). Human societies and land are both complex systems whichare interconnected each other and co-evolve in mutual interaction permanently.Traditionally, conversions of natural land to human use have been linked to severalenvironmental and social problems (Vollmer 2005). Assessment of sustainability for landsystems are an unavoidable part for land-use planning, management and decision-making.They constitute a key issue pertaining to sustainable land-use. In Chile, as in most developingcountries, land activities have transformed a large proportion of the nation’s land surface,especially in larger cities and their surrounding areas, such as the Metropolitan Region ofSantiago. Rapid growth experienced in Santiago in the past decades has increased economicdevelopment at the expense of losses in environmental quality and land resourcesavailability. In order to propose sustainability indicators for land-use in Santiago, amultidimensional framework called The MAIN tetra is presented (Kain 2000). This analyticalmodel allows interpreting through a four-pointed tetrahedron defined by MIND – ARTIFACTS– INSTITUTIONS – NATURE – the dimensions of sustainable development. Since land systemis considered a dynamic system, proposed indicators look forward to represent changingtrends for the natural land features, land ownership and land management characteristics.In parallel, interviews to selected stakeholders were conducted, in order to enrich the SDIconstruction with perception of stakeholders' approaches about land use and sustainability.Proposed indicators include a review of the whole land system and its parts, consider amultidimensional approach, and proposed time frame for further assessment. Indicatorsalso focus on urban-rural development and pressure over the land resources, and propose alimited number of key issues for analysis and a limited number of indicators (37 indicators).The information obtained from this research can be used for contributing to planning andpolicy creation, support land use policy priorities, encourage debate and spark interest insustainability issues.