Outdoor Environmental Education in Limache, Chile
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Environmental Sustainability Across Cultures / Spring 2014 Lily Busher, Malcolm Johnson, David Richards, Jamie Shannon & Michiyo Weinstock Abra la Puerta a Chile Verde: Outdoor Environmental Education in Limache, Chile Baba Dioum, an African environmentalist, stated at the IUCN general assembly that, “in the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught." Environmental educators regularly refer to this quote as the basis for their programs due to the truth that still rings true today. As an outdoor environmental education (OE) NGO based out of California, there is nothing we would like to see more than children experiencing the natural world in a way that inspires them towards conservation. Our plan is to generate an OE program that utilizes traditional ecological knowledge and covers a wide range of environmental topics. In order to implement the program, we require support from government officials, teachers/administrators, outdoor professionals, and private funding. Currently the Ministerio del Medio Ambiente (Ministry of the Environment) has a division for environmental education (EE) that includes three programs: EE program support, funding for programs, and local community coordination. It is essential for us to work within the means of each program to ensure the success of our program. This paper outlines the background, economics, program details, and cultural implications of OE in Chile. Hopefully we can inspire children to conserve and love what they are taught through our program. Biocultural Background Chile, like many Latin American countries, has experienced a history that is rich with cultural implications. Over the years, Chile was conquered by Spanish conquistadors and only achieved independence after significant struggles. Following independence, Socialist president Allende maintained control and significantly changed the Chilean culture for his own needs. After years of turmoil and the mysterious disappearance of many citizens, Allende was overthrown and a social democracy was put in place. With a history of violence, valuing the natural world has been very low on the Chilean agenda. Currently, the economy in Chile is growing rapidly, mainly due to the transition to the global economy and resource extraction. The following section will discuss the economic implications on culture and nature. With the conquistadors came Catholicism, this is now practiced by over 70% of Chileans. The dedication to religion has had consequences for culture, with most people holding God above other values. Before the conquest of the Spanish there were hundreds of indigenous cultures present in Chile, some of which are still present today. This vast cultural diversity can be seen in the cultural heritage of every individual in Chile. Additionally, there exist multiple 1 | P a g e national parks and protected areas throughout the area, mostly established by Allende in an attempt to preserve the rich biodiversity of the nation. The main theory for the richness of biodiversity is the designation of Chile as a Mediterranean-Type Ecosystem (MTE). Other MTEs are equally as diverse, such as the coast of California. Since we are familiar with many of the challenges that a MTE faces, we are qualified to assist in the creation of programs in a similar ecosystem. Chile also suffers from high population density within its major cities. In many cases, children spend their entire lives within the city, never experiencing the biocultural diversity of their own nation. We hope our project will get kids out of the city so they can take pride in the green Chile. One major challenge for our project would be bridging the culture gap between the US and Chile. On the Country Navigator, seven out of nine of the indicators were ‘red,’ which meant they were vastly different. Attempting to be culturally sensitive requires a shift towards Chilean culture for Americans since we are the ones farther from center. Other factors to be aware of when presenting our program include: ensuring the group believes that we will have a long-term commitment to the area; highlighting the importance of Chile to support the patriotism found throughout the country; being sure to have a more personal introduction with everyone in the room (such as shaking hands); and being sure to be more relationship focused than task oriented (start with conversations about family). Working in Chile is not impossible it just requires cultural sensitivity. Economic Background Since 1990, Chile has experienced rapid economic growth and became the first South American country to join OECD. Their economic growth relies on exports of natural resources, such as mining, forestry, and aquaculture, which accounts for 40% of GDP. While these growths resulted in positive trend such as exponential growth in GDP and significant reduce in poverty, severe environmental degradation has become serious problems in Chile. Particularly, booming business in mining and forestry sectors has given little attention to environmental issues and human health. Development Challenge As introduced earlier, booming business in extractive sector has led to severe environmental issues such as air pollution in the Santiago metropolitan region and water and soil contamination caused by acid mine drainage at the Copper smelters in northern Chile. To combat these major health and environmental challenges, the Chilean government must strengthen environmental policies to incorporate the notion of “sustainable development.” We define it as equitable development: 1) Sustain equitable improvement in quality of life without compromising future generations expectations and rights to enjoy nature, biological diversity, clean air and clean water, and food safety. 2) Ensure socio- economic development and environmental sustainability are complementary each other. 3) Improve social equity including eradicating poverty. 4) Achieve international competitiveness regarding business and safety standard. 2 | P a g e Policy Implementation In Chile, these environmental concerns led to robust policy implementation. 1) Health- In order to export to the other OECD countries that have higher safety standard, Chile needs to meet rigorous compliance with demanding environmental standard. In fact, Chile is a pioneer in the use of trading mechanism such as I) Tradable air emission permits. II) Nationwide trading of water rights. III) Individual transferable QUOTAs for fishery. 2) Technology - As a late comer of economic growth, Chile is jumping to more advanced, efficient and ecological technology. 3) Environmental management – Domestic programs have shown progress in air and water protection, biodiversity conservation, and waste management. 4) Environmental education – Environmental awareness and education are inevitably important to motivate private sector and individuals to maintain a healthy environment while ensuring viability of profitable business. Call for Environmental Education We believe that scientific knowledge gained by environmental education will help Chilean to better understand environment and why it is important to know the state of environment. These information and knowledge will stimulate public participation, communication, and active dialogue to sustain both environmental and profitable business that benefits local community. In the long term, we would argue that environmental education and awareness especially to next generation through experience-based programs such as cataloging living species in nature is most effective way to achieve such goals. Program Details Limache Outdoor Education School Under the Chilean government’s Chile Verde program, which supports the development of environmental education programs, the Limache Outdoor Education School in Limache, Chile, plans to work toward the program’s initiatives by implementing and monitoring an outdoor education school in central Chile. The school builds on the country’s program and goals to further environmental values and corporate responsibility, both of which are appreciated by Chilean culture. Limache, Chile The decision to position the school in the city of Limache came because of its prime location. This small sized city in the Valparaíso region conveniently sits close enough to both Santiago, the capital, and the Pacific Ocean, but far enough to experience a sense of 3 | P a g e nature and adventure. Most importantly, the city is only 25 km from La Campana National Park, which will serve as the primary location for outdoor education. The park itself is home to one of the last remaining palm forest of the Chilean Wine Palm tree. This 80-km2 forest varies in valleys and mountains, and offers a wide range of learning opportunities. Hiking trails throughout the park will be the best means to demonstrate the park’s biodiversity. Limache is also only 50 km from Lake Peñuelas National Reserve. The United Nation’s Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated the reserve a biosphere reserve. This signifies that because the biodiversity is so rich, it is imperative to protect and share for educational purposes. The reserve is most known for its bird species. More than 120 bird species come to this reserve for protection, breeding, and food. The reserve will be another central part for the outdoor education school. Finally, the city is 43 km from Valparaíso and 103 km from Santiago. Valparaíso is a coastal city with biologically diverse beaches and tide pools. The ocean