Abstract
To contribute to achieving local and global sustainability, we propose a novel educational methodology, called field environmental philosophy (FEP), which orients ecotourism practices to reconnect citizens and nature. FEP is based on the systemic approach of the biocultural ethic that values the vital links among the life habits of co-inhabitants (humans and other-than-humans) who share a common habitat. Based on this “3Hs” model (habitats, co-inhabitants, habits), FEP combines tourism with experiential education to reorient biocultural homogenization toward biocultural conservation. FEP’s methodological approach seeks to integrate social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainability by generating new links between biological and cultural diversity at different spatial and social scales. Ecotourism has an underutilized potential to link sciences with education and conservation practices at different scales. By incorporating a philosophical foundation, FEP broadens both understanding and practices of environmental education and sustainable tourism. FEP has been developed at the Omora Ethnobotanical Park in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, Chile, at the southern end of the Americas since 2000, where it has oriented transdisciplinary work for the creation of new protected areas and ecotourism practices. FEP enables an integration of biophysical, cultural, and institutional dimensions into the design of ecotourism activities that transform and broaden the perceptions of tourists, local guides, students, and other participants to better appreciate local biological and cultural diversity. FEP’s methodology is starting to be adapted in other world regions, such as Germany, Japan, and Mexico, to integrate education and ecotourism for sustainability.
Highlights
IntroductionDuring the twenty-first century, members of the globally interconnected society are increasingly losing direct everyday interactions with nature, leading to an “extinction of experience” [1,2,3,4,5]
To counterbalance processes of biocultural homogenization that are taking place in other regions of the world, we present the adaptation of the “3Hs” conceptual framework of the biocultural ethic to ecotourism practices that foster biocultural conservation and contribute to social and environmental sustainability
An often-under-appreciated aspect of conservation efforts is the recognition of the importance of local ecological knowledge and fostering value systems that appreciate and engage nature
Summary
During the twenty-first century, members of the globally interconnected society are increasingly losing direct everyday interactions with nature, leading to an “extinction of experience” [1,2,3,4,5]. Sustainable solutions are difficult to implement when local ecological knowledge and environmental sensitivity is threatened, as communities lose their understanding and engagement of what is needed to sustain ecological systems [6,7]. An ecological understanding and ethical sense of responsibility for these losses is a necessary quality to maintain and nurture sustainability cultures. The biocultural discourse has Sustainability 2021, 13, 4526.
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