Tunjuelo is alive. Community proposals for better water management.

Based on ethnographic research, this paper shows how the communities living in the Tunjuelo river basin have established an alternative way of relating with a river within a peri-urban context. Traditionally, governmental... [ view full abstract ]

Based on ethnographic research, this paper shows how the communities living in the Tunjuelo river basin have established an alternative way of relating with a river within a peri-urban context.
Traditionally, governmental management of the Tunjuelo river basin has been subdued it to the needs of Bogotá city. This has led to disastrous consequences for the basin, its water quality and quantity.  The river has been heavily polluted and altered through many development projects; from a dam that altered the ecosystem in the early XX century, to mining contracts and a huge landfill built in the las few decades.
In the face of this environmental disaster, some communities around the river propose alternative ways of relating with the river. Their proposals are based on a decolonial understanding of nature and science, in which science becomes a language to communicate with a sentient river. They state, that their proposals would lead to environmental justice and a better water management.