Abstract

The purpose of this research is to present a conceptual model for the integrated management of the Maullin River Estuary. The methodology used in this work was based on literary reviews of coastline management, sustainability, critical prospective methodology, and the system dynamics practical approach and field activities including interviews of key informants, professionals, and technicians from the Local Government using the Likert Scale Survey. The qualitative and quantitative variables taken from the study allowed the identification of critical variables and aided in the design of the frame of the analysis. The results showed five critical variables for the area: 1) competition for natural resources of commercial importance, 2) the need for environmental regulations at the local level 3) the need for education in sustainable development, 4) competition between local fishermen and indigenous communities for the use of coastal territory, and 5) the diversity of institutions and local agents with jurisdiction over the coastal territory. In addition, there are three recognizable systemic archetypes in the region which are an expression of the territorial dynamic and a projection of the desirable future of the territory. These systemic archetypes are ¨Shifting the Burden, Eroding Goals and ¨Success to the Successful¨. As a result of this work a conceptual model has been constructed whose main discovery is the need of generating an agreed participative process not only technically correct in the management area but with a political orientation based on the transversal axis of the local plan