Rural Shrinkage: Depopulation and Land Grabbing in Chilean Patagonia
One current global problem is the shrinkage of rural areas, which is expected to become an increasingly recurrent dynamic caused by the transformations in land uses and forms of habitation of the contemporary era. Patagonia is a suitable case study to understand the processes and challenges exposed...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/1/11 |
| _version_ | 1827371736605130752 |
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| author | Pablo Mansilla-Quiñones Sergio Elías Uribe-Sierra |
| author_facet | Pablo Mansilla-Quiñones Sergio Elías Uribe-Sierra |
| author_sort | Pablo Mansilla-Quiñones |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | One current global problem is the shrinkage of rural areas, which is expected to become an increasingly recurrent dynamic caused by the transformations in land uses and forms of habitation of the contemporary era. Patagonia is a suitable case study to understand the processes and challenges exposed by rural shrinkage, which not only addresses population loss but also the causes and consequences that transform rural territories. Its remote geographical location and climate conditions make it a complex place for human settlement. The objective is to describe the relationship between the agrarian structure and rural population decline in Chilean Patagonia. Taking a mixed methodological approach that combines the geohistorical review of settlement processes and the use of statistical procedures with census data, the presence of significant inequalities in the distribution of land and the accumulation of areas in large properties is discussed. The loss of rural population was identified, which may be driven by unequal access to land favoring concentration for extractive activities such as large-scale sheep farming, hydrocarbons and biofuels production. This prompts the exodus of young people to urban centers in search of work and education because land grabbing limits economic options, and rural depopulation reduces service coverage without timely responses from political institutions. This has caused the rural shrinkage in territories with demographic imbalances, with high aging and masculinization rates that hinder the repopulation of these areas, which have historically suffered from underpopulation. In conclusion, population strategies in these areas based on extractivism and a strict land ownership regime have not facilitated permanent human settlement but have instead complicated it more. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:44:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fead27f2940146b99c5183c2453a91b6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:44:53Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-fead27f2940146b99c5183c2453a91b62024-01-26T17:19:44ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2023-12-011311110.3390/land13010011Rural Shrinkage: Depopulation and Land Grabbing in Chilean PatagoniaPablo Mansilla-Quiñones0Sergio Elías Uribe-Sierra1Instituto de Geografía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2241, ChileInstituto de Geografía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2241, ChileOne current global problem is the shrinkage of rural areas, which is expected to become an increasingly recurrent dynamic caused by the transformations in land uses and forms of habitation of the contemporary era. Patagonia is a suitable case study to understand the processes and challenges exposed by rural shrinkage, which not only addresses population loss but also the causes and consequences that transform rural territories. Its remote geographical location and climate conditions make it a complex place for human settlement. The objective is to describe the relationship between the agrarian structure and rural population decline in Chilean Patagonia. Taking a mixed methodological approach that combines the geohistorical review of settlement processes and the use of statistical procedures with census data, the presence of significant inequalities in the distribution of land and the accumulation of areas in large properties is discussed. The loss of rural population was identified, which may be driven by unequal access to land favoring concentration for extractive activities such as large-scale sheep farming, hydrocarbons and biofuels production. This prompts the exodus of young people to urban centers in search of work and education because land grabbing limits economic options, and rural depopulation reduces service coverage without timely responses from political institutions. This has caused the rural shrinkage in territories with demographic imbalances, with high aging and masculinization rates that hinder the repopulation of these areas, which have historically suffered from underpopulation. In conclusion, population strategies in these areas based on extractivism and a strict land ownership regime have not facilitated permanent human settlement but have instead complicated it more.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/1/11rural depopulationrural shrinkageprivate propertyextractivismPatagonia |
| spellingShingle | Pablo Mansilla-Quiñones Sergio Elías Uribe-Sierra Rural Shrinkage: Depopulation and Land Grabbing in Chilean Patagonia Land rural depopulation rural shrinkage private property extractivism Patagonia |
| title | Rural Shrinkage: Depopulation and Land Grabbing in Chilean Patagonia |
| title_full | Rural Shrinkage: Depopulation and Land Grabbing in Chilean Patagonia |
| title_fullStr | Rural Shrinkage: Depopulation and Land Grabbing in Chilean Patagonia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rural Shrinkage: Depopulation and Land Grabbing in Chilean Patagonia |
| title_short | Rural Shrinkage: Depopulation and Land Grabbing in Chilean Patagonia |
| title_sort | rural shrinkage depopulation and land grabbing in chilean patagonia |
| topic | rural depopulation rural shrinkage private property extractivism Patagonia |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/1/11 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pablomansillaquinones ruralshrinkagedepopulationandlandgrabbinginchileanpatagonia AT sergioeliasuribesierra ruralshrinkagedepopulationandlandgrabbinginchileanpatagonia |