PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #11: Education: Post-graduate and Outreach.
Monday, August 5. Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC

Environmental education as a facilitator of the use of ecological information: A case study in Mexico.

CASTILLO, ALICIA^*,1, GARCIA-RUVALCABA, SALVADOR², MARTINEZ, LUIS², ¹ INSTITUTO DE ECOLOGIA UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTONOMA DE MEXICO, MORELIA, MICHOACAN, MEXICO² INSTITUTO MANANTLAN DE ECOLOGIA UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA, AUTLAN, JALISCO, MEXICO

ABSTRACT- Ecological research is expected to provide a scientific basis on which environmental management decisions can be taken. Environmental education is seen as raising environmental awareness among human populations and as a provider of the knowledge, values, attitudes and skills needed to protect the environment. In order to evaluate the potential role of environmental education as a facilitator in the communication and use of ecological information, the present case study examines how environmental education is conceived within a scientific institution and analyses how this activity may be contributing to the utilization of research findings. Using a qualitative research approach, data were collected through direct observation, revision of documents and semi-structured interviews with people involved in the solution of an environmental problem related to the pollution of the Ayuquila river in the Sierra de Manantlan Biosphere Reserve. Interviews were fully transcribed and using the Atlas.ti programme for qualitative analysis, a network diagram was created for an understanding of the elements involved in the problem analysed. The examination of the case study suggests that institutions of ecological research should incorporate mechanisms that strengthen the possibilities of research use. It is proposed that environmental education function as a linkage system facilitating the management of knowledge, the integration of a system perspective into environmental problems and promoting collaborative approaches through the involvement of multiple stakeholders in processes of environmental problem-solving.

KEY WORDS: environmental education, use of research findings, communication of science, environmental problem-solving