Small rural towns, global change and local knowledge. Comparative studies in Latin America

Abstract

This article examines changes in rural areas of Latin America and the possible future scenarios through case studies developed under the project "Designing a methology to evaluate local knowlegde on global change and its role in the construction of future land scenarios used by local actors "IAI Institute for Global Change (director Jean Francois Tourrand, CIRAD). This project is a major methodological goal is to develop, test and validate a methodology to evaluate local knowledge on global change and how such knowledge is incorporated in the construction of future scenarios of land use. The complexity of the problem requires an interdisciplinary approach through the participation of researchers from different countries and institutions and the development of field work in various rural areas. With regard to the methodology developed, the lessons advance the accuracy of the information collection (drivers of change, scenarios and conditions) and enriching the experience of fieldwork in Uruguay, Brazil and Peru.