Nariño Department
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Appendix Six Nariño Department The department of Nariño is located in south-western Colombia (see Map 7 overleaf). It is bordered on the south by Ecuador and on the west by the Pacifijic Ocean. Geographically, it is composed of three distinct regions. The depart- mental capital city, Pasto, is located in the Andean cordillera region that runs from the north of the department to the south, and to the east of which are the jungles of Putumayo department. Indigenous ethnicities with a long history of community organisation and defence and recuperation of their culture and lands predominate.1 In western Nariño is the low-lying Pacifijic coastal region, traversed by rivers and jungle, with the municipal cabeceras on the coast. This region was colonised by Afro-Colombian communities, to whom legislation subsequent to the 1991 Constitution granted collective title to the rural lands that they occupied, organised through the framework of local Consejos Comu- nitarios (Community Councils).2 Between the coast and the mountains lies the piedemonte (foothills) region, populated by a mix of indigenous, Afro-Colom- bian and campesino communities. Nariño is one of the least developed departments in Colombia with gener- ally poor infrastructure (aside from the Pan-American highway that runs along the spine of the Andes down into Ecuador). Especially on the coast and in the piedemonte, many communities are accessible only by boat or on foot and lack even the most basic services. The department’s economy has historically been founded in small scale agriculture, fijishing, mining, logging and crafts, although commerce has been stronger in zones close to the border with Ecuador. There have been low levels of State investment in Nariño and its rural inhabitants, in 1 Alfonso Pardo, ‘Nariño un departamento en conflicto [Nariño: A Department in Conflict]’ in Walter Aldana and others, Conflictos regionales – Atlántico y Pacífijico [Regional Conflicts: Atlantic and Pacifijic] (FESCOL/IEPRI, Bogotá 1998) 161. 2 See, particularly 1991 Political Constitution, Transitory Article 55; Ley 70 de 1993 por la cual se desarrolla el artículo transitorio 55 de la Constitución Política [Law 70 of 1993 by which Transitory Article 55 Political Constitution is developed] (31 August 1997) Diario Ofijicial, No. 41 013; and Decreto 1745 de 1995 por el cual se reglamenta el Capítulo III de la Ley 70 de 1993, se adopta el procedimiento para el reconocimiento del derecho a la propiedad colectiva de las “Tierras de las Comunidades Negras” y se dictan otras disposiciones [Decree 1745 of 1995 by which Law 70 of 1993 is regulated, the procedure for recognition of the right to collective property of the ‘Lands of Black Communities’ is adopted, and other provisions are dictated] (13 October 1995) Diario Ofijicial, No. 42 049. Nariño Department 523 map 7 Nariño department River Timbiqui River Napi River CAUCA TapajeTipage River Patia Tumaco Sidón Barbacoas Cumbitara Policarpa NARIÑO La Guayacana Los Andes Sotomayor El Diviso River Mira Samaniego Llorente Altaquer Pasto Ricaurte Numbí Mayasquer Cumbal River Chiles Ipiales Sucio ECUADOR 10 0 50 100 Km Major road City Settlement mentioned in text Boundary between departments.