Overcoming geographic and disciplinary biases in conservation: Long term socio-ecological research and education in the sub-Antarctic Magellanic ecoregion

Background/Question/Methods A geographical mismatch between distribution patterns of biodiversity and regions conducting long-term ecological research (LTER) has been recently recognized, posing a major challenge for conservation programs. Less understood are the obstacles to interdisciplinary conservation programs, which include at least two further biases: a) integration of disciplines is generally restricted to natural and social sciences, while philosophical, political, and aesthetic studies are not similarly incorporated, and b) research and education programs frequently overemphasize translating ecological knowledge from science to society, thus undermining multidirectional flows of information that foster long-term collaboration among decision-makers, scientists, citizens, and institutions. To characterize the former biases, we analyzed the world distribution of biosphere reserves (BR) and LTER sites, and examined the array of disciplines involved in LTER programs. We then introduce a case study in southern South America.

Results/Conclusions Preliminary results showed: 1) >50% of countries in the world contain at least one BR, except Latin America where this percentage is only 44%. 2) LTERs are concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere; ILTER includes only four South American countries. 3) Integration of the humanities into interdisciplinary programs in LTERs began only recently and in < 10 sites. Overcoming these challenges requires developing strategies that promote international partnership among institutions, integrating disciplines and multidirectional collaborations at local, regional, and international scales. Recognizing these needs, a team of scientists, philosophers, and artists created the Omora Ethnobotanical Park (OEP) in Cape Horn in 2000. Working with the Chilean Government and the University of Magallanes, OEP succeeded in the nomination of the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2005. Concurrently, OEP also helped found the Millennium Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB), which involves researchers from five Chilean universities and three field stations, covering the latitudinal range of South American temperate forests and constituting a nascent LTER Chilean network. Furthermore, to strengthen an international integration of science, philosophy, and policy, OEP and IEB formed a partnership with the University of North Texas Environmental Philosophy program, initiating a Pan-American Environmental Philosophy Network where scholars present their work within the contexts of their culture and language. This biocultural conservation network, coordinated by OEP, offers a platform to transcend disciplinary and geographical barriers. Just as it is necessary to have long-term ecological research sites to study ecological processes, effective conservation efforts require long-term collaborative agendas that incorporate the political, philosophical and policy-making spheres on international, interdisciplinary, and inter-institutional scales.