Explore Case Studies

Introduction

The Torna Lickana Network -Territory of Life, means "our land". It is located in the north of the Argentine Republic, in the province of Salta, within the departments of La Poma and Los Andes, in the portion of the Altiplano known as PUNA. The Territory of Life is located at an altitude of more than 3,500 meters/s/n/m, where temperatures range from 30 to 35°C in summer and 10 to 15°C in winter.

The Torna Lickana Network is made up of 10 indigenous communities that are part of the ICCA. Among them are the communities of: Incahuasi, Raíces Andinas, Corralito, Matancillas, Casa Colorada, Esquina de Guardia, Tipan, Cobres, Rangel and Cerro Negro. These nucleated communities are part of the Salinas Grandes basin that covers the provinces of Salta and Jujuy.

The economy of the villages is based on the care and use of natural resources, such as the care of animals: llamas, vicuñas, sheep, goats and cows; the use of animal fibres for the production of handicraft fabrics, for their uses and marketing. Social mining is developed with the exploitation of salt for the supply of animals, for human and industrial use. In addition, the economies are complemented by some public jobs, such as in the Municipality, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Security and social plans.

The economy of the Torna Lickana communities is based on the availability of water for the survival of their animals, and for the planting of vegetables in places with a favorable microclimate where water from natural springs is available for irrigation.

The different plants existing in the territory are used for other purposes, such as medicinal herbs and dyeing plants.

History

The indigenous communities belonging to the Atacama Nation people inhabit these territories as part of the Torna Lickana Network. Academic research shows that the Atacama people are a people that pre-existed the formation of the Argentine National State and the Provincial State of Salta. The evidence supports that families of Atacama identity lived in the Puna Salta before this territory became part of the Argentine Republic in the year 1900.

According to anthropological and archaeological studies, the Atacameños have lived in this area for more than 10,000 years. In particular, the anthropologist Merardo Monne has commented on all the anthropological bibliography on our existence as a people and we are witnesses of the archaeological vestiges that exist in the aboriginal communities of Matancillas and Corralito. Other anthropologists, such as Felix Acuto of the National University of La Plata, also have studies and books on our pre-existence.

Historical threats: Colonization + Creation of political borders.

From the national and provincial delimitation at the time of the formation of the States, the territory has been disputed between countries and provinces. Historically, colonization and the political division of the state was a major threat to our livelihood as a people. We were a Nation, and in 1945 the State delimited the provinces and our communities were included in the Province of Salta. The lack of recognition and respect for all indigenous communities represents a constant challenge.

The threats persist: traditional mining, megamining, and lastly, lithium mining. With traditional mining, mega-mining and, in recent times, the increase in projects that seek to extract lithium in the high Andean wetlands, our rights have been violated, as well as the integrity of our territory and local ways of life. In the past, there were other less aggressive mining advances, the processing of what was extracted was done in other areas and there were fewer environmental liabilities. Currently, mining has a different intensity, there is overexploitation carried out with polluting products and the raw material is taken out of the country. In addition, mining activity brings with it other problems such as the increase in child abuse in the region.

Conservation

Our people are respectful of the values and beliefs transmitted from generation to generation by our ancestors, hence the care of Mother Earth and Good Living rather than strategic development or excessive economic growth. Buen Vivir is a worldview inspired by the indigenous values of Latin America that involves a holistic lifestyle in which life and nature are inseparable.

In the Territory of Life are located the high Andean wetlands, formed by salt flats, lakes, lagoons, wetlands; ecosystems with an immeasurable biological, cultural, social and economic value and with which the people maintain different ways of life harmonious and deeply rooted since time immemorial.

Each community is responsible for conservation in its territory. The control of invasive species is carried out, vegetables are grown to provide shade and firewood, so as not to threaten native species, and measures are taken so that they do not expand in the region. In relation to agriculture, we plant trees and small crops, and each community does the activity of planting exotic plants – they are plants that are not from the area – but that serve to adapt to the extreme climate of the puna. We maintain balance with the ecosystem. We also have traditional medicine to relieve discomfort when people come to visit. The communities take care of the salt flat and conserve it, in particular the rational use of water, since we depend on it for consumption.

The communities oppose activities that put the care of wetlands at risk (such as filling with coarse for roads, installation of activities that demand water). In this territory, a measured use of fresh water is made, planned, so that it is sustainable. It is protected from fires to prevent vegetation from succumbing during dry periods.

Management and governance

The Torna Lickana Life Territory has been facing threats since the beginning of 2010, when companies interested in lithium exploitation arrived in the area. Since then, there have been growing pressures to advance in their extraction, without there being a comprehensive debate on the cultural, political, environmental, social, and economic impacts that these activities generate or can generate in the ecosystem and in the lives of the people who inhabit them. This activity can affect the quality and availability of water in a region where it is already scarce and is vital for the survival of a unique biodiversity and the sustainability of the people's ways of life. In addition, knowing the mining projects that operate in neighboring salt flats and their impacts, the communities oppose it to preserve the territory. These projects cause a number of disruptions, including:

• Increased traffic, which can cause accidents, generate noise and scare away animals and even cause their mortality by being run over.

• Disturbance of the natural environment as a result of the installation of pumping wells and roads to reach them.

• Improper disposal and handling of waste, such as bottles, plastic bags and other waste that remain in the territory after departure.

• The communities are also affected emotionally since they live uneasy and on alert for the possibility of mining companies settling in our territory.

The threat reaches the rights of free self-determination and the processes of consultation and free, prior and informed consent are not adequately complied with. From then on, a new history of struggle in defense of community rights and Pachamama (nature) began.

The people join the communities of Salinas Grandes and Laguna de Guayatayoc in the Province of Jujuy with whom they share the basin of the salt flat (a large salt flat in northern Argentina), to advance in national and international legal actions for the recognition and respect of our rights.

The communities of the Torna Lickana ("our land") Network build a path of struggle and political action, in a scenario of dispute with the models and policies functional to dispossession, in a horizon for Good Living, in which our actions are proposed as tools for the production and revaluation of ancestral knowledge and knowledge. They are organizational political alternatives that have their greatness in community realization and are enhanced by perseverance. Different from the reality that is presented in development models and plans that do not dialogue with the spirit of the Community Network, that do not account for our community history, needs and potentialities, where the voice of the Network has not been heard.

The expected protection is, on the part of the Province, that it fulfills its duty and function of caring for and protecting the environment. Let the projects stop. That other actors (such as NGOs) and environmental foundations support our cause to have more strength.

Finally, we insist that the legitimate and legal possession of the territory is a tool to be able to defend the rights of Mother Earth and her children. In this sense, the communities of the Torna Lickana Network have initiated a judicial process to demand from the provincial State the single title to community property.

Next step and lessons learned

The communities of the Torna Lickana Network have been walking a path for years to face the territorial conflicts that are experienced in the region. For example, the provincial government has presented proposals that go in a different direction from the Andean worldview with which they preserve the care and balance of Pachamama. In this sense, the communities of the Torna Lickana Network decided to move forward in the registration process of this ICCA with the aim of maintaining cultural and spiritual values, preserving our history, encouraging young people to stay in the area, strengthening the process of defending our rights over the territory and community life.

This case study was originally published by UNEP-WCMC in June 2025. The content was provided by the custodians of this ICCA. The ICCA has been self-declared and has not yet been through a peer-review process to verify its status. More details on this process can be found here. The contents of this website do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of UN Environment Programme or UNEP-WCMC.