OOS 43-7
A strategic plan for a Chilean Long-Term Socio-ecological Research Network
Chile’s growing economy is largely dependent on natural resource use, including ore mining, hydroelectric power generation, crop production, exotic species forestry, and salmon farming. However, environmental impacts of these activities, accompanied by climate change, are generating fast-paced deterioration and loss of ecosystem services and biodiversity, in the absence of long-term sustainability plans. To monitor, mitigate, and prevent such impacts, long-term records of key ecological indicators and processes are necessary for representative Chilean ecosystems. The Chilean Long-Term Socio-ecological Research (LTSER) Network was created in 2008 with the aim of consolidating long-term research in selected ecosystems of southern South America, using an approach that integrates the social, ethical, and ecological domains of environmental change from local to global scales. Our present challenge is to put in place an institutional framework that promotes scientific collaboration and common planning in an appropriately stratified and representative sample of national ecosystems. With the new understanding that arises from analyzing long-term data sets, LTSER should contribute to the early detection of socio-ecological problems, determine whether current management programs are effective, and identify new management possibilities.
Results/Conclusions
The first stage of the Chilean-LTSER focused on providing governance structure to the Network, formalizing international links (such as with ILTER), and setting up basic infrastructure (housing, climatic stations, etc.). Initially, efforts were centered on three biological stations: Fray Jorge National Park at 30°S in semiarid Chile; Senda Darwin Biological Station at 43°S in the temperate rainforest; and Omora Ethno-botanical Park at 50°S in the sub-Antarctic region. We present here a conceptual framework designed with a question-based, process-driven approach, in the context of local and regional environmental problems. Such framework is examined in a comparative context with other networks within ILTER, particularly in the Americas. We are now in the process of integrating new sites to the network, including both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, under the leadership of private and public institutions. Through coordination with government agencies, we will not replicate, but rather build upon and greatly enhance, work currently ongoing. The promotion of multi- and inter-disciplinary analysis and synthesis of long-term datasets between ecosystem scientists and managers should enhance the sustainability of the Chilean economy. Finally, we are encouraged ethically to report to the public on the status of national ecosystems and biodiversity through our outreach program.