Restoration of Society-Nature Relationship Based on Education: A Model and Progress in Patagonian Drylands

Abstract

In the arid and semiarid regions of Patagonia in Argentina, millions of hectares have been desertified by cattle ranching and hydrocarbon extraction activities. As a result, at least 76 plant species are endangered, and several endemic taxa are at risk of extinction. In this context, an environmental education (EE) project was developed with the goal of restoring these drylands. Four theoretical EE currents—sustainability, bioregionalism, praxis and scientific—and two methodological frameworks—participative action research and communities of practice—were used to shape informal and non-formal EE proposals. A partnership between the public and private sectors framed within informal EE allowed the inclusion of ecological restoration in the legal framework and education of groups of local residents. These residents participated in a non-formal EE process, established nurseries of native species, and restoration work cooperatives in Argentina. This educational process has provided elements for the formulation of a model of EE for ecological restoration.