Perception of and knowledge about biodiversity by urban and rural students of central-west drylands of Argentina
Arid and semiarid ecosystems of Mendoza and San Juan are currently undergoing severe degradation with the subsequent loss of biodiversity. In this scenario, diffusion and education about native biodiversity and its value are indispensable to the purposes of conservation. The present work reviews three previous studies conducted in the provinces of Mendoza and San Juan. This review attempts to reflect the perceptions, knowledge and appreciation of urban and rural students about biodiversity, within the framework of studies conducted worldwide, and discusses the effect of educational interventions aimed at improving knowledge of and attitudes toward biodiversity. Studies find that, although the place of residence, sex and age of students affect their perception and knowledge of biodiversity, overall, children appreciate and know exotic species better than native ones and, just as in the rest of the world, they are familiar with pets, ornamental plants and charismatic mammals. Students learn about biodiversity from different sources; the initial contact of the youngest children with species is through the mass media and books. Children are scarcely familiar with local native species with conservation issues or with their evolutionary adaptations to arid regions. After a short educational intervention, changes in perceptions and knowledge are observed in the short term, but these are lost in the long term. We consider it important to increase efforts in schools, family, non-governmental organizations, etc., to improve knowledge and appreciation of native biodiversity through activities that are maintained over time and involve direct contact with nature.
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Asociación Argentina de Ecología
2013
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Campos, Claudia M. Nates, Juliana Lindemann-Matthies, Petra |
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Campos, Claudia M. Nates, Juliana Lindemann-Matthies, Petra Perception of and knowledge about biodiversity by urban and rural students of central-west drylands of Argentina |
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Campos, Claudia M. Nates, Juliana Lindemann-Matthies, Petra |
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Campos, Claudia M. |
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Perception of and knowledge about biodiversity by urban and rural students of central-west drylands of Argentina |
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Perception of and knowledge about biodiversity by urban and rural students of central-west drylands of Argentina |
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Perception of and knowledge about biodiversity by urban and rural students of central-west drylands of Argentina |
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Perception of and knowledge about biodiversity by urban and rural students of central-west drylands of Argentina |
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Perception of and knowledge about biodiversity by urban and rural students of central-west drylands of Argentina |
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perception of and knowledge about biodiversity by urban and rural students of central-west drylands of argentina |
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Arid and semiarid ecosystems of Mendoza and San Juan are currently undergoing severe degradation with the subsequent loss of biodiversity. In this scenario, diffusion and education about native biodiversity and its value are indispensable to the purposes of conservation. The present work reviews three previous studies conducted in the provinces of Mendoza and San Juan. This review attempts to reflect the perceptions, knowledge and appreciation of urban and rural students about biodiversity, within the framework of studies conducted worldwide, and discusses the effect of educational interventions aimed at improving knowledge of and attitudes toward biodiversity. Studies find that, although the place of residence, sex and age of students affect their perception and knowledge of biodiversity, overall, children appreciate and know exotic species better than native ones and, just as in the rest of the world, they are familiar with pets, ornamental plants and charismatic mammals. Students learn about biodiversity from different sources; the initial contact of the youngest children with species is through the mass media and books. Children are scarcely familiar with local native species with conservation issues or with their evolutionary adaptations to arid regions. After a short educational intervention, changes in perceptions and knowledge are observed in the short term, but these are lost in the long term. We consider it important to increase efforts in schools, family, non-governmental organizations, etc., to improve knowledge and appreciation of native biodiversity through activities that are maintained over time and involve direct contact with nature. |
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Asociación Argentina de Ecología |
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2013 |
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https://ojs.ecologiaaustral.com.ar/index.php/Ecologia_Austral/article/view/1172 |
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rev-ecoaus-article-11722023-11-02T20:55:56Z Perception of and knowledge about biodiversity by urban and rural students of central-west drylands of Argentina Percepción y conocimiento de la biodiversidad por estudiantes urbanos y rurales de las tierras áridas del centro-oeste de Argentina Campos, Claudia M. Nates, Juliana Lindemann-Matthies, Petra appreciation attitudes native species exotic species apreciación actitudes especies nativas especies exóticas Arid and semiarid ecosystems of Mendoza and San Juan are currently undergoing severe degradation with the subsequent loss of biodiversity. In this scenario, diffusion and education about native biodiversity and its value are indispensable to the purposes of conservation. The present work reviews three previous studies conducted in the provinces of Mendoza and San Juan. This review attempts to reflect the perceptions, knowledge and appreciation of urban and rural students about biodiversity, within the framework of studies conducted worldwide, and discusses the effect of educational interventions aimed at improving knowledge of and attitudes toward biodiversity. Studies find that, although the place of residence, sex and age of students affect their perception and knowledge of biodiversity, overall, children appreciate and know exotic species better than native ones and, just as in the rest of the world, they are familiar with pets, ornamental plants and charismatic mammals. Students learn about biodiversity from different sources; the initial contact of the youngest children with species is through the mass media and books. Children are scarcely familiar with local native species with conservation issues or with their evolutionary adaptations to arid regions. After a short educational intervention, changes in perceptions and knowledge are observed in the short term, but these are lost in the long term. We consider it important to increase efforts in schools, family, non-governmental organizations, etc., to improve knowledge and appreciation of native biodiversity through activities that are maintained over time and involve direct contact with nature. Los ecosistemas áridos y semiáridos de las provincias de Mendoza y San Juan en la actualidad sufren una degradación fuerte, con pérdida de biodiversidad. En este escenario, la difusión y la educación acerca de la biodiversidad nativa y su valor resultan indispensables a los fines de conservación. El presente trabajo revisa tres estudios llevados a cabo en las provincias de Mendoza y San Juan. Estos estudios fueron los primeros que, por un lado, intentaron reflejar las percepciones, conocimientos y apreciaciones de los estudiantes urbanos y rurales acerca de la biodiversidad y, por el otro, presentaron los resultados de la evaluación de una intervención educativa orientada a mejorar conocimientos y actitudes hacia la biodiversidad. Los trabajos muestran que si bien la procedencia, el género y la edad de los estudiantes afectan la percepción y el conocimiento acerca de la biodiversidad, en general, los niños aprecian y conocen más a las especies exóticas que a las nativas y, como en el resto del mundo, están familiarizados con las mascotas, las plantas ornamentales y los mamíferos carismáticos. Los estudiantes aprenden sobre biodiversidad utilizando diferentes fuentes; el contacto inicial de los más jóvenes con las especies ocurre a través de los medios masivos de comunicación y los libros. Los niños están poco familiarizados con las especies nativas locales con problemas de conservación y conocen poco acerca de sus adaptaciones evolutivas a las zonas áridas. Luego de una corta intervención educativa se observan cambios en percepciones y conocimientos en el corto plazo, pero a largo plazo se pierden. Es importante aumentar el esfuerzo en las escuelas, la familia, las organizaciones no gubernamentales y otros para mejorar el conocimiento y la apreciación de las biodiversidad nativa a través de actividades que se mantengan en el tiempo e impliquen el contacto directo con la naturaleza. Asociación Argentina de Ecología 2013-12-01 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion application/pdf https://ojs.ecologiaaustral.com.ar/index.php/Ecologia_Austral/article/view/1172 10.25260/EA.13.23.3.0.1172 Ecología Austral; Vol. 23 No. 3 (2013): December 2013, Pages 143-226; 174-183 Ecología Austral; Vol. 23 Núm. 3 (2013): December 2013, Pages 143-226; 174-183 1667-782X 0327-5477 spa https://ojs.ecologiaaustral.com.ar/index.php/Ecologia_Austral/article/view/1172/566 Derechos de autor 2020 Claudia M. Campos, Juliana Nates, Petra Lindemann-Matthies https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |