Social preferences for ecosystem services in a biodiversity hotspot in South America.

Identifying which ecosystem services are relevant to different stakeholders and understanding stakeholders' perceptions of such services is useful for making informed decisions, especially in regions of the world where the achievement of biodiversity conservation goals is threatened by economically productive activities. In this article, we assess social preferences for ecosystem services in a biodiversity hotspot in central Chile. We use a consultative case study to ask local stakeholders (n = 70) from the Campana Peñuelas Biosphere Reserve to identify the most important ecosystem services the area provides for them and inquire about the perceived vulnerability of the services to changes in the future. We also explore the association between the perceived importance of ecosystem services and the sociodemographic and cultural characteristics of the respondents, which allows us to identify contrasting stakeholder perceptions of different ecosystem services. The most important services for local actors were the drinking water, fresh air and climate change control, genetic pool of plant communities in central Chile, and educational value. From the perspective of local actors, the services that could be threatened by negative changes in the future in terms of their provision included the possibilities of developing conservation activities focused on iconic threatened animal and plant species, water regulation, food from agriculture, and drinking water. Contrasting perceptions about the importance of ecosystem services emerged among stakeholders. While small farmers and members of local organizations attributed higher importance values to provisioning services, scientists and rangers and administrators of protected areas as well as teachers, NGO members and local government employees attributed more importance to the regulating and cultural services associated with threatened species. Our results can serve as a source of information for the planning and decision-making processes related to the search for socially and ecologically sustainable solutions for land use management.

Descubriendo las relaciones de las personas con la naturaleza en Chile Central: estudio de caso en una comuna periurbana / Discovering people's relationships with nature in Central Chile: a case study in a peri-urban commune

La valoración social de la vida silvestre es reconocida como esencial para lograr una conservación biológica efectiva. Esto se fundamenta en la comprensión de las relaciones de las personas con la vida silvestre. Esta necesidad ya ha sido planteada en el contexto de las políticas ambientales internacionales. En Chile, ha sido explícitamente mencionada como relevante en la Estrategia Nacional de Biodiversidad, que declara la necesidad de un mejor entendimiento de cómo los ciudadanos chilenos están utilizando y valorando la biodiversidad. Sin embargo, en Chile aún existe poca evidencia científica al respecto. El presente artículo tiene como objetivo analizar las relaciones que las personas tienen con la naturaleza de su territorio de tal forma de establecer cuáles son las visiones que tienen sobre la fauna y flora. El estudio se desarrolla en un área periurbana de la Región Metropolitana de Santiago de Chile. El enfoque utilizado para el análisis de las relaciones personas-vida silvestre fue cualitativo, con base en la Teoría Fundamentada. A través del estudio se evidenció que la naturaleza es identificada por los habitantes por medio de elementos tangibles de su entorno natural, la cual se constituye a través de una relación entre el individuo, la sociedad y el mundo físico. Los resultados muestran una gran importancia de los bosques de quillay (Quillaja saponaria) para los participantes lo cual da luces sobre la relevancia que tiene el contexto socio-cultural en el cual se llevan a cabo las valoraciones sociales de la vida silvestre, dado que en este tipo de estudios la fauna generalmente emerge como más relevante. En Chile, a excepción de unos pocos estudios científicos, existen muy pocas experiencias publicadas que aborden la importancia social de plantas particulares. Con este estudio pretendemos aportar a la literatura científica con un estudio de caso así como también contribuir a la gestión de la conservación del área.

The social assessment of wildlife is recognized as essential to achieve effective biological conservation. This is based on the understanding of people's relationships with wildlife. This need has already been raised in the context of international environmental policies. In Chile, it has been explicitly mentioned as relevant in the National Biodiversity Strategy, which declares the need for a better understanding of how Chilean citizens are using and valuing biodiversity. However, in Chile there is still little scientific evidence in this regard. This article aims to analyze the relationships that people have with nature in their territory in order to establish what the visions that they have on fauna and flora are. The study is carried out in a peri-urban area of the Metropolitan Region of Santiago de Chile. The approach used for the analysis of people-wildlife relationships was qualitative, based on the Grounded Theory. Through the study it was shown that nature is identified by the inhabitants through tangible elements of their natural environment, which is constituted through a relationship between the individual, society and the physical world. The results show a great importance of the quillay forests (Quillaja saponaria) for the participants which gives light on the relevance of the socio-cultural context in which social assessment of wildlife are carried out, given that in this type of studies fauna generally emerges as more relevant. With the exception of a few scientific studies, there are very few published experiences in Chile that address the social importance of particular plants. This study intends to contribute to the scientific literature with a case study, as well as to contribute to the management of the conservation of the area.

Spectrum of concepts associated with the term "biodiversity": a case study in a biodiversity hotspot in South America.

In most conservation programs that include public participation, the word "biodiversity" is used. However, many variables influence the public understanding of the term and determine what biodiversity means to local stakeholders. Those representations of the concept must be addressed and included in conservation actions. We asked 47 local stakeholders in a biosphere reserve (BR) located in a biodiversity hotspot in South America, for whom the conservation of biodiversity is not the main focus of interest, to explain how they understand the term "biodiversity." Twenty-two different definitions were provided, ranging from purely ecological concepts to the human dimension. Although the diversity of animals and plants was the most frequently mentioned concept, the variety of concepts that emerged suggested that more explicit examples of social constructions must be considered in public participatory projects and environmental education programs. Actors living in a close relationship with nature provide a greater diversity of elements in defining biodiversity, visualizing ecological but also instrumental values.

LA EVALUACIÓN NO MONETARIA DE LOS SERVICIOS ECOSISTÉMICOS: PERSPECTIVAS PARA LA GESTIÓN SOSTENIBLE DEL TERRITORIO / THE NON-MONETARY EVALUATION OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: PERSPECTIVES FOR SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT

Los servicios ecosistémicos (SE) se definen como "la contribución directa o indirecta de los ecosistemas al bienestar humano". El enfoque de SE para apoyar la gestión del territorio ha sido uno de los más influyentes en las corrientes científicas y políticas en el último tiempo, y en países latinoamericanos como Chile se aprecia un interés creciente en este tema. La conexión de los ecosistemas con el bienestar de las personas permite explorar las visiones, valores, preferencias o creencias de los usuarios de los SE. Sin embargo, estos aspectos son comúnmente ignorados en las esferas políticas y en la gestión territorial chilena, dada la complejidad metodológica de abordarlos por el carácter de intangibilidad que presentan. En este artículo argumentamos sobre la necesidad de incorporar en la evaluación de los SE las dimensiones intangibles de valor y ordenamos las herramientas metodológicas que existen para ello, con el propósito de apoyar las evaluaciones de SE de gestión territorial. El estudio reporta los hallazgos de una investigación teórica donde se analizó sistemáticamente el paradigma de SE, su implicación en esferas políticas y científicas para posteriormente enfocar el análisis en la necesidad de incorporar dimensiones de valor no monetarias en la evaluación de SE, lo cual puede ser particularmente relevante en países latinoamericanos. Entre las estrategias metodológicas que permiten capturar estas dimensiones destacan técnicas participativas como grupos focales, representaciones espaciales participativas y técnicas deliberativas.

Ecosystem Services (ES) are defined as the "direct and indirect contribution of ecosystems to human well-being." The ES approach to support land management has been one of the most influential in the scientific and political schools of thought, and in Latin American countries like Chile, there is a growing interest on this topic. Connecting ecosystems with people's well-being allows exploration of visions, values, preferences or beliefs of the ES users. However, these aspects are commonly ignored in the political fields and by the Chilean land management due to the methodological complexity of addressing their character of intangibility. In this article, the need to incorporate the intangible dimensions of value in assessing ES are argued, and the methodological tools available to it are organized to support the territorial assessment of ES. The study reports the findings of a theoretical research where the paradigm of ES, its implications in political and scientific areas are analyzed, and then focuses the analysis on the need to incorporate non-monetary value dimensions on ES assessment, which may be particularly relevant in Latin American countries. Among the methodological strategies to capture these dimensions are participatory techniques such as focus groups, deliberative techniques and participatory and spatial representations.

Assessing the value of species: a case study on the willingness to pay for species protection in Chile.

We conduct a valuation of species protection in central Chile's Campana National Park (CNP) using the choice experiment (CE) method. The CNP has been recognized as having global relevance for the conservation of biological diversity. Specifically, the aim is to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) of park visitors for protection of different protected species in the area: popular species of flora and fauna that are known by visitors of the park, inconspicuous species (phytofagous, fungus) that are unknown to visitors, and species with conservation problems of which visitors are unaware. We also investigate the WTP for different levels of species biodiversity protection within the sample as the WTP for biodiversity protection is sensitive to the way in which biodiversity is presented to respondents. The levels of species biodiversity protection are represented using "icon" inconspicuous species and numbers of inconspicuous species protected in La Campana National Park. This methodology allowed us to obtain information on the sensitivity of the participants to the scope of the information provided. Overall, visitors attach positive and significant values to the local conservation of species. These values are derived not only from the desire to preserve popular species in the area but also from the preservation or assured existence of inconspicuous species that are protected in the park. Visitors behave as consumers who are sensitive to changes in the price of park admission as a result of the implementation of specific strategies for wildlife conservation management in the park. Furthermore, the study also elucidates the observations that the public is able to perceive biodiversity conservation in broader terms than a single species and that greater benefits are attached to the conservation of multiple species than single ones. Results also provide insights into methodological considerations regarding the conceptual framework used to assess the valuation of biodiversity changes in developing countries, including the level of biological diversity and the scale of the change.

Valuing biodiversity attributes and water supply using choice experiments: a case study of La Campana Peñuelas Biosphere Reserve, Chile.

The main objective of this study is to assess public economic preferences for biodiversity conservation and water supply and to analyse the factors influencing those preferences. A survey based on the choice experiment method was carried out at Peñuelas National Reserve, Chile, an area that is threatened by both occasional forest fires and the growing housing market. The input of local administrators was used to define environmental attributes of the area related to biodiversity conservation and water supply. Attributes were selected for analysis by the choice experiment. The selected attributes were the following: existence of endemic orchid species, chances of observing animals with scenic attraction, additional protection for an endemic amphibian, and availability of drinkable water in the future. A monetary variable consisting of an increase in the rate for entry to the area was also incorporated to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) for additional protection for the selected attributes. Three hundred four Chilean visitors to the reserve were randomly selected for interviews. Econometric analysis based on the Theory of Utility Maximization shows that visitors are willing to pay to protect the selected attributes. WTP values for the attributes range from CHP $2,600 ($5.4) to $6,600 ($14) per person per visit. The results of this research provide reserve managers information about tradeoffs that could be used to enhance public support and maximise the social benefits of nature conservation management programmes.

Consideraciones jurídicas de la emergencia sanitaria / Legal considerations of the health emergency

Este artículo se propone insertar la previsión normativa de la programación estatal de la emergencia en la problemática actual de la política de salud. Presenta los conceptos primarios del riesgo, la alerta, la emergencia, su encuadre normativo (en nación, y en provincia), y las potestades estatales emergentes de su naturaleza.