Introduction

In conjunction with completing a Master of Architecture degree and the Graduate Certificate Program in Urban and Regional Design at the University of New Mexico, the author of this report has proposed a research project to document the ecological effects of Inca architectural planning and construction. The hypothesis is that, to this day, the ecology of Peru is strengthened by the design and engineering work of the Inca civilization. This research intends to show that some of the lasting effects of their civilization include increased biodiversity, mitigated drought conditions, cleaner river water, denser plant growth, and more bountiful habitats for humans and animals.  

Sustainability is becoming a critical issue in the design and retrofitting of human settlements. According to a World Watch Institute-funded study performed in 2012, Peru is the only country in the world that could be considered sustainable (Assadourian et al. 2012). Still, drastic economic inequality and industrialized infrastructures are negatively impacting the diverse ecosystems and populations that compose the country. Solutions to some of these problems may be found within the venerable design strategies of the Inca. However, some key data and analyses are still missing from the body of research on Inca design and land use.  This information is necessary to identify with precision the ecological benefits that might be possible to replicate by employing a truly bioresponsive design strategy. 

Field research was conducted in May, June, and July of 2013 on four Inca archaeological sites in Peru with permission from the Peruvian Ministry of Culture. The four sites studied were Wiñay Wayna, Choquequirao, Pisaq and Ollantaytambo.  Wiñay Wayna and Choquequirao are two examples of well preserved sites that still function hydrologically much the way they did in Inca times, yet have had little human impact.  Due to restrictions set by the direction of Machu Picchu Archeological Park soil samples were unable to be collected at Wiñay Wayna. Pisaq and Ollantaytambo also proved to be excellent sites to add diversity to the study's sampling as they are also well preserved and because parts of the sites are still cultivated in much the same way that the Inca cultivated them. 

The main facet of this field research was assessing the ecological vitality of these sites and comparing this data with data collected from areas of land that are similarly situated (e.g., altitude, slope, orientation, proximity to water, etc.) but were not constructed by the Inca or previous civilizations.  This data was gathered in the form of soil analyses, vegetation transects, and water testing. Soil samples were analyzed by A&L Laboratories in California. Permits for soil importation were acquired through A&L Labs as well.  The samples were analyzed for organic matter content and composition, mineral content, and cation exchange rates (see analysis and addendums).

In addition to soil tests, vegetation transects were performed using the frequency method to assess land productivity. This method is used to describe the abundance and distribution of species. “On most sites the frequency method is capable of accomplishing the task with statistical evidence more rapidly and at less cost than any other method that is currently available” (Mosley, Bunting, and Hironaka 1989). The primary reason for collecting frequency data is to demonstrate that a change in vegetation has occurred. 

A water colorimeter was secured through the UNM Community and Regional Planning Program, thanks to Dr. William Flemming. Water testing was performed at Wiñay Wayna, Pisaq, and Ollantaytambo, but could not be performed at Choquequirao as there was no surface water found on site. On the four sites where testing was performed water was tested for turbidity (erosion content), nitrates and phosphates (usually fertilizers), and pH (Mitchell, Stapp, and Bixby 2000).

This summer my thesis research had me travelling though the Sierra Madre Mountains in Guatemala to conduct field research on my Master’s thesis on community radio and international development. While weaving through the Highlands to various research sites on the legendary camionetas (local buses), I had three goals in mind: (1) to learn how local community development in the Guatemalan Highlands is in part facilitated through the international NGO, Cultural Survival’s Community Radio Project; (2) to understand how local issues of indigenous rights and development inform the international development goals of Cultural Survival; and (3) to observe how community radio is used as a tool in local development efforts. I approached the democratization of media, indigenous rights, alternative community-based planning, and international development using three field methodologies: (1) interviewing community radio volunteers and Cultural Survival’s Radio Project Coordinators; (2) observing community radio workshops that Cultural Survival attended; (3) listening to community radio broadcasts. 

During the summer of 2013, with funding awarded by the Latin American and Iberian Institute, I traveled to Bogotá and Bucaramanga for preliminary thesis research on large-scale mining in Colombia.  I investigated the role that transnational, specifically Canadian, mining operations play in shaping ecologies and the social fabric of communities through one case study. The Angostura Mine site, property of Canadian Eco Oro (formerly Greystar), in the high mountain wetlands of Santander, Colombia is a current and emblematic example of the complexities that arise between territorial governance, environmental management, and land and labor rights in areas ceded to transnational capital. The research exposed further questions for investigation in land planning and political ecology, namely, the paradoxes that allow large-scale mining to be considered “sustainable development.” The case brings to light the discord between human rights/environmental protections and transnational businesses operations in areas of social conflict. The most hopeful thread in the complex story is the formation and growth of a civil society coalition, The Committee for the Defense of Water and Santurbán Páramo, comprised of individuals and organizations across a broad political spectrum that has, so far, succeeded in pressuring the government to protect their water source: a fragile and vital páramo ecosystem.