Eastern Asturias, an Anthropocene cartography

Link to map: www.anthropocenemap.eu – Best displayed on computer

Eastern Asturias, an Anthropocene cartography is the result of a workshop that brought together experts and interested parties to map direct and indirect impacts of humans in the study area of Eastern Asturias. The land sample was chosen by its diverse landscape due to the large difference in altitude over a short distance, covering a mix of small urban settlements and unbuilt land. During one workshop day, we discussed and identified different cases that met the research question: “What are the human-initiated actions and processes that directly and indirectly cause environmental harm in the study area?”

To achieve this, a mapping methodology based on Iconoclasistas (2016) was followed to map, and the structure of the Coupled Human Natural Systems as a basis for identifying the cases. Furthermore, a case selection was made for the final map.

However, the project offers only a fraction of anthropocene cases that emerged according to the methodology used.

This project was a continuation of an earlier workshop (October 2023) organized by LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial in which the concept of Asturias as a Climate Refuge was questioned by several (international) experts and students from the University of Oviedo. The final result was presented in a documentary.

Organizer, mapmaker and website developer: Maarten Lauwers

Supervisor: Pablo de Soto (Director Laboral Centro de Arte y Creación cultural)

Texts by: Alfredo Ojanguren, Rolando Rodriguez Muñoz, Mario Quevedo de Anta, Paula Izquierdo Muruáis (Departamento de Biología, Organismos y Sistemas de la Universidad de Oviedo)

Published by LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial