Operationalizing Relational Dimensions in Forest Governance: A Multiscale Methodological Framework for the Argentine Gran Chaco

The integration of social, cultural, and relational dimensions into forest governance remains a major methodological challenge in complex socioecological systems. Although ecosystem services approaches and spatial analysis tools have advanced the incorporation of biophysical information, significant limitations persist in operationalizing situated knowledge, local territorial dynamics, and non-material forms of forest valuation within territorial planning frameworks.
This study develops a multiscale methodological framework integrating social cartography, relational cartography, geographic information systems (GIS), Earth observation, and multicriteria analysis into forest governance processes. The framework is based on the systematization of accumulated research and territorial work conducted over more than a decade in the Argentine Gran Chaco. The approach combines participatory, qualitative, and spatial tools through iterative translation processes aimed at incorporating social, cultural, and relational dimensions into variables applicable to territorial analysis and decision-making.
Results show that the integrating social cartography, relational cartography, and spatial analysis enables the operationalization of territorial dimensions usually underrepresented in conventional planning approaches, including care practices, socioproductive dynamics, and differentiated relationships with forests within multicriteria evaluation and multiscale governance processes. In addition, the framework strengthens linkages between local scales and forest planning, facilitating the incorporation of complex territorial information into environmental governance instruments.
Overall, the study provides a methodological framework for integrating territorial knowledge, spatial analysis, and forest governance in contexts of high socioecological complexity. The proposed approach strengthens the operational integration of multiple actors, scales, and forms of territorial valuation into forest planning and decision-making processes.