Protected areas offer an ideal opportunity for the ecological imperative of inclusion to bridge communities and ecosystems. There is a global disconnect between humankind and wilderness, wherein many humans do not realize their own roles in the “web of life.” Protected areas and the signage on their interpretive trails can contribute to solve this problem or to aggravate it. Signage which de-emphasizes ecological interactions, omits human-ecological interrelations, and/or presents individual species in isolation from their interactions can miseducate the public about the “web of life.” As we continue to understand how we inhabit the Anthropocene, the integration of ecology and communities, including ethical dimensions, become increasingly relevant. In this study we examine what signage teaches. Do they display mostly individual species, or do they also display ecological interactions, including those of humans? Do they only display scientific knowledge, or do they include a diverse form of ecological knowledge? How are cultural diversity and traditional ecological knowledge considered? To investigate these questions, during the austral summer of 2018-2019, we examined interpretive trail signage at five public protected areas and one public-private protected area in the Magellanic region of southern Chile, which is one of the world’s 24 remaining wilderness areas.
Results/Conclusions
In public protected areas we examined 140+ signs. Most signs displayed single species, and <10% depicted ecological interactions. Among the latter, >66% focused on trophic relationships. Few signs explained interrelations between ecosystems and current local communities through concepts such as ecosystem services, despite the fact that two of the protected areas have as main mission the provision of water to the capital city of the region, Punta Arenas. Regarding the presentation of cultural diversity, indigenous people were depicted with a historical perspective that did not include current participation, nor explanations about traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). In contrast, the public-private protected area, Omora Ethnobotanical Park (a Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research site), included signage in four languages: Yahgan indigenous, Spanish, English, and Latin scientific. Some of the signs include diverse ecological interactions, and references to TEK. For all protected areas the experience of the visit is enhanced if signage is complemented with guided visits, involving local guides and/or brochures. Guided visits open valuable opportunities for members of indigenous or other local communities to participate. Toward this aim, LTSER sites offer ecologists an effective platform to become involved in this process, which encourages conservation practices that will be better understood at the local scale.