Configuration of Network Territories and Zonal Territories in Environmental Conflicts: Insights from the Esquel Case (Chubut, Argentina)

Abstract

This article analyzes the territorial logics of the actors involved in environmental conflicts, which lead to the configuration of territory-networks and territory-zones. To interpret this phenomenon, it examines in depth a significant case in the South American context: the conflict over open-pit mining in Esquel (Chubut, Argentina). The aim is to show how both mining promoters and those who resist seek to impose their respective territorial projects through various strategies. Based on interviews and document analysis, the study reveals the dynamic nature of these logics, which are not restricted to a specific type of actor but are updated and reconfigured according to power relations and the interpretations of the protagonists at each stage of the dispute. In this way, the article contributes to testing geographical concepts, understood as tools not only for understanding phenomena but also for transforming them.

Keywords:
Environmental conflict; Territorial configuration; Territorial logics; Territory-network; Territory-zone