Contribuciones geográficas al desarrollo rural del Perú

Geographic Contributions to the Rural Development of Perú Traditionally, Geography is understood as an academic science which main function is to provide basic knowledge about territories but of less use for practical means; that is why it has been associated to History and therefore the least interest given by the Latin American policy makers when designing educational programs. The objective of this paper is to show that geographers are significantly contributing to sustainable development issues in different geographical environments, be these urban and rural. To do this I will show an experience on sustainable rural development in the Sierra of Piura, as an example of the application of the geographic and environmental knowledge, sensitizing the rural people to their ecosystems’ potential and the strategies for action in front of climate change. In a preliminary study there were identified the structural problems that impede sustainable development by information workshops and awareness to the teachers and community and municipal leaders. In a second stage we are working with peasants of two different ecological zones to inform them of their potential in plant resources and the ways how they may take advantage to put them at the urban markets, thus increasing their economic assets. To do this, we propose to help them in searching for those markets and provide advice in order to get just prices for their products. It is too early to quantitatively talk on the results because plants have a production cycle that needs to be experimented before they are distributed to the final stakeholders. Of course, this research is interdisciplinary and the geographers’ participation is due to their fine knowledge of the ecosystems and places where the experience is being done. Tradicionalmente, la geografía es entendida como una ciencia académica que funciona bien proporcionando conocimientos básicos sobre los territorios, pero de poca aplicación práctica; de allí su asociación con la historia y el escaso interés que muestran los estrategas de políticas educativas en América Latina. El objetivo de este artículo es mostrar que los geógrafos vienen contribuyendo de manera muy significativa en temas de desarrollo sostenible en los diferentes ámbitos de los espacios geográficos, sean urbanos o rurales. Se tomará una experiencia de desarrollo rural aplicada a la sierra de Piura como muestra de la aplicación de los conocimientos geográficos ambientales, sensibilizando a las poblaciones rurales acerca de los potenciales de sus ecosistemas y de las estrategias de acción fre