![Children entering Omora Ethnobotanical Park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Children_entering_Omora_Ethnobotanical_Park.jpg)
Omora Ethnobotanical Park is a
protected area of Chile located west of
Puerto Williams
Puerto Williams (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Port Williams") is the city, port and naval base on Navarino Island in Chile. It faces the Beagle Channel. It is the Capital city, capital of Antártica Chilena Province, the Chilean Antarctic Prov ...
on
Navarino Island
Navarino Island () is a Chilean island located between Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, to the north, and Cape Horn, to the south. The island forms part of the Commune of Cabo de Hornos, the southernmost commune in Chile and in the world, belong ...
in the extreme southern
Magellan and Chilean Antarctica Region. The Omora Park is a research, education and conservation center for the
Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve
The Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve (Cabo de Hornos Biosphere Reserve) is located in the extreme south of Chile and comprises marine areas, islands, fjords, channels, forests and moorland. It covers an area of approximately . All biosphere reserves inc ...
. The park itself includes a representative variety
subantarctic
The sub-Antarctic zone is a region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46° and 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region includes many islands ...
flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
open to the public for formal and information education. Within its boundaries, one can find deciduous forests (''
Nothofagus antarctica
''Nothofagus antarctica'' (''Antarctic beech''; in Spanish ''Ñire'' or ''Ñirre'') is a deciduous tree or shrub native to southern Chile and Argentina from about 36°S to Tierra del Fuego (56° S), where it grows mainly in the diminishing tempe ...
'' and ''
Nothofagus pumilio
''Nothofagus pumilio'', the lenga beech (from the Mapuche language), is a deciduous tree or shrub in the Nothofagaceae family that is native to the southern Andes range, in the temperate forests of Chile and Argentina to Tierra del Fuego, from 35 ...
'') and evergreen broadleaf forests (''
Nothofagus betuloides
''Nothofagus betuloides'', Magellan's beech or ''guindo'', is a tree native to southern Patagonia.
In 1769, Sir Joseph Banks collected a specimen of the tree in Tierra del Fuego during Captain Cook's first voyage.
Its occurrence on Hornos Isla ...
''), as well as
bog
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
s and high-Andean ecosystems and diverse
moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
es,
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.[Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve
The Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve (Cabo de Hornos Biosphere Reserve) is located in the extreme south of Chile and comprises marine areas, islands, fjords, channels, forests and moorland. It covers an area of approximately . All biosphere reserves inc ...]
. A consortium of institutions now support this program including the Omora Foundation, the Millennium Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB-Chile)and the
University of Magallanes
University of Magallanes (UMAG) is a university in the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas. It is a public state university and it is part of the Chilean Traditional Universities. The University of Magallanes was established in 1981 during the ...
in Chile, and the
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...
and the Center for Environmental Philosophy in the United States. In 2008, the Omora Park received the "Science and Practice of Ecology and Society Award", given by the Foundation for Scientific Synthesis.
Founding director Dr
Ricardo Rozzi
Ricardo Rozzi (born October 6, 1960, in Santiago) is a Chilean ecologist and philosopher who is professor at the University of North Texas and the Universidad de Magallanes (UMAG). His research combines both disciplines through the study of the ...
inaugurated the practice of "field environmental philosophy" at the Omora Park. This way of learning is a contemporary iteration of the
peripatetic school
The Peripatetic school was a school of philosophy in Ancient Greece. Its teachings derived from its founder, Aristotle (384–322 BC), and ''peripatetic'' is an adjective ascribed to his followers.
The school dates from around 335 BC when Aristo ...
, and its appeal is that it invites participants to experientially deconstruct universal and mathematical assumptions about nature, through the rediscovery of the singular qualities of each living being, and of the inapprehensible diversity of beings. It enables students, teachers, scientists, citizens, and policy makers to recover awareness about the integral value of the lives of singular living beings beyond their mathematical representation or scientific names. The understanding gained through this educational process leads not only to a conceptual awareness of biological and cultural diversity, but also to an emotional feeling and sense of involvement. This has proven to be an experience critical for motivating politicians and decisions makers to appreciate and act positively to conserve species and their habitats.
One example of the way the Omora Park attempts to use field environmental philosophy to link theory and practice can be found in the
Tourism with a Hand Lens initiative.
In spite of the achievements, the Omora Park has not been without some controversy with the local community. In 2009, the leaders of the four citizen organizations, including the Cape Horn Tourism Association, the Neighborhood Association, the Puerto Williams Fisherman's Union and the Yahgan Community of Mejillones Bay, signed an open letter to the Regional Council
Radio Polar, 10 August 2009 to contest the further expansion of the park and to question its role with the local community. On the other hand, all Regional Council members except one voted in favor of Omora Park's initiative, and the network of public and private institutions as well as other citizen organizations, including the President of the Yahgan Community of Mejillones Bay, supported the initiative of Omora Park during the meeting of the Region Government Council in 2009.
[ ]
External links
Universidad de Magallanes (UMAG), Puerto Williams, ChileInstitute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Chile (IEB)Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation Program, coordinated by UMAG & IEB in Chile, and the University of North Texas in the USCenter for Environmental PhilosophyOmora Foundation2008 Science and Practice of Ecology and Society Award, given by the Resilience Alliance
Articles online
Omora Biocultural Conservation Approach: Ecology & Society 2006 Field environmental philosophy and biocultural conservation at the Omora Ethnobotanical Park: Methodological approaches to broaden the ways of integrating the social component(“S”) in Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) Sites
Videos online
''The invisible Journey: Ecotourism with a Hand-Lens''''Parque Omora: Laboratorio Natural''by TVN -
CONICYT
CONICYT is a Chilean government agency responsible for coordinating, promoting and aiding scientific research in the country. The name is an acronym of ''Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica'' meaning "National Commi ...
- CABALA
''La Medida de Omora'' by Claudia Esslinger''La Medida de Omora y Los Cabos de Hornos'' by Claudia EsslingerField Environmental Philosophy /Filosofia Ambiental de Campo: ''El Retorno a la Madriguera'' (''The Return to the Den'') by Jaime Sepulveda ''Belleza de Pensar'' Cristian Warnken, Lorenzo Aillapán y Ricardo RozziEfecto Picaflor sinopsis''TV UMAG'' Ecotourism with a Hand Lens - Ecoturismo con Lupa''TV UMAG'' Omora LA BIODIVERSIDAD''TV UMAG'' Omora VALOR INTRINSECO''TV UMAG'' Omora VALOR INSTRUMENTAL''TV UMAG'' Omora Turismo sustentable Parque Cabo de Hornos''TV UMAG'' Omora Guia Multi Etnica de Aves Subantarticas''Naturaleza Pajaro, Bosque Nativo'' - Lorenzo Aillapan by Olaf Pena Pastene''Naturaleza Pajaro, Bosque Nativo'' - Ricardo Rozzi by Olaf Pena Pastene
References
* Comisión Nacional de Medio Ambiente (CONAMA): El Uso de los Recursos Naturales en el Desarrollo de la Region • Duodécima Región de Magallanes y Antártica Chilena, Capítulo IVb
Field environmental philosophy and biocultural conservation at the Omora Ethnobotanical Park: Methodological approaches to broaden the ways of integrating the social component(“S”) in Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) Sites* Rozzi, R., J.J. Armesto, J. Gutiérrez, F. Massardo, G. Likens, C.B. Anderson, A. Poole, K. Moses, G. Hargrove, A. Mansilla, J.H. Kennedy, M. Willson, K. Jax, C. Jones, J.B. Callicott & M.T. Kalin. 2012. Integrating ecology and environmental ethics: Earth stewardship in the southern end of the Americas. BioScience 62 (3): 226-236
* Rozzi, R., J. Armesto, B. Goffinet, W. Buck, F. Massardo, J. Silander, M. Kalin-Arroyo, S. Russell, C.B. Anderson, L. Cavieres & J.B. Callicott. 2008. Changing lenses to assess biodiversity: patterns of species richness in sub-Antarctic plants and implications for global conservation. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 6: 131-137.
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Protected areas of Magallanes Region
Parks in Chile
Navarino Island
Protected areas established in 2000