Resumen

VARGAS-MENESES, Catalina  y  RINCON-POLO, Gladys. Operational Model of the Environmental Fragility Index under Data Constraints: Application and Validation in the Santa Marta Micro-Watershed, Costa Rica. Rev. Geog. Amer. Central [online]. 2026, n.77, pp.213-248.  Epub 20-Mayo-2026. ISSN 2215-2563.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15359/rgac.77-2.8.

This article presents an operational model of the Environmental Fragility Index (EFI) applied under conditions of structural constraints in technical, institutional, and budgetary data, using the Santa Marta micro-watershed (Tarrazú, Costa Rica) as a case study. Three key biophysical variables (slope, surface geology, and natural hazards) were integrated through spatial multi-criteria analysis with equal weighting in an open-source Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. The resulting index revealed a predominance of medium fragility (mean value of 2.75), with high-fragility categories concentrated on slopes exceeding 30%. Spatial coherence was assessed through overlay analysis with independent environmental inputs, including water quality indicators, corrected land cover data, and a functional zoning proposal, showing significant correspondence between areas of high fragility and zones under anthropogenic pressure. Based on this experience, the study proposes strategic guidelines for progressive implementation in rural municipalities with limited technical capacity. The findings demonstrate that the adapted EFI constitutes a methodologically consistent tool to support preventive territorial planning in mountainous micro-watersheds, provided that its scope and limitations are explicitly acknowledged.

Palabras clave : environmental fragility; territorial planning; GIS; micro-watershed; cross-validation; simplified EFI.

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