Delimitation is the action and effect of delimiting. This verb refers to determining the limits of something. For example: “The delimitation of the border was a source of conflict between both countries”, “The manager of a company must invest time in the delimitation of the functions of each employee, to avoid friction and misunderstandings”, “I have not yet carried out the delimitation of the field.
The notion of limit, for its part, refers to the real or imaginary line that separates two territories or to a restriction or limitation, among other things. Delimiting, therefore, consists of drawing a division (separating two or more things) or imposing a fence (physical or symbolic).
The delimitation of a certain area can be done with a tape.
The physical or symbolic delimitation
In this sense, a piece of land can be delimited by means of fences or the responsibilities of an employee through instructions or orders. This means that the term can refer to a physical and concrete separation (the fence that marks a boundary between two properties) or a more abstract restriction (the order that determines which tasks to accomplish).
Among the tasks of Police officers and the Civil Guard (or Urban Guard, depending on the country), is the duty to detect anomalies on public roads, whether it is a suspicious situation among a group of people or signs of deterioration in a building, depending on the position and the body, and delimit the area in which they are warned, to then inform their superiors and, in accordance with the case and the instructions previously received, request reinforcements to proceed to solve the problems.
A measure of protection
The delimitation of a potentially dangerous area for citizens is usually done through the use of specific material, such as signaling tape with the inscription “danger”, “works”, “entry prohibited”, “danger, high voltage”, or simply with a combination of two colors with oblique stripes, which can be white and red or yellow and black.
On the other hand, the delimitation can also be simply an inspection to assess the extent of the anomaly and be in a position to make the best decision to find a solution. An example of this type of situation can be the exercise of a commercial activity without the pertinent license, before which an agent of the Civil Guard is forced to act to guarantee the rights of the merchants who do comply with their obligations.
The borders allow the delimitation of the territory of each country.
Once the delimitation of a dangerous or conflictive zone has been carried out, there are different codes for the communication of the anomaly to the operations center; In the first place, the means used is usually a wireless device known as a handy receiver (although people unrelated to this field usually call it a walkie talkie), which has a great range and allows the whole body to be connected.
The description of the conflict must be done following a pre-established order, citing the relevant data so that the interlocutor can enter them in a database and then refer them to the corresponding body. When it is necessary to communicate proper names, it is normal to use certain known words (such as names of countries or provinces) to spell them; for example, say “Spain London Italy Sweden America” to spell the name “Elisa”.
Delimitation of a territory
The delimitation of the territory was something very important several centuries ago, when the European powers expanded into other regions through colonialism and then when the colonies began to become independent. In these processes, it became necessary to establish new limits in each nation or region.
Another related notion is limitation, which indicates the action and effect of limiting or limiting oneself. The use of limitation and delimitation, in everyday language, is almost identical, since both terms are often used as synonyms in some contexts.
