Nineteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

The objective of our communication is to put in evidence the relevance of the quality of the relationships between human beings and the environment -understood as a socio-ecosystem (SES)- in which they live and of which they are a part, as a key factor to promote and manage its conservation in a sustainable way. For this, we take as an example the forestry works related to the extraction of the cork, activities that are strongly masculinized and apparently ag-gressive with the trees. This circumstance leads us to reflect on the importance of analyzing local practices and knowledge for the expansion and theoretical inter-connection between the concept of ecosystem services (ES) and that of care, dis-covering how, in certain contexts, places and activities, these practices involve services of care that local operators provide to the trees and the forest. Consequently, we insist on the need to incorporate these actors, their practices, knowledge and feelings about and with respect to trees as fundamental keys to achieving sustainable management of Mediterranean cork oak forests in general and of southern Andalusia in particular and for a Socio-ecological Governance of the Conservation of these socio-ecosystems. We refer specifically to one of the most valuable spaces from the point of view of the conservation of the ecosystems of the Mediterranean forest and its biodiversity, such as the cork oak forests of southern Andalusia declared a Natural Park and integrated into the only intercontinental biosphere reserve existing in the world: that of Mediterranean Andalusia (Spain)-Rif (Morocco).

Presenters

Javier Escalera Reyes
Catedrático de Antropología Social, Antropología Social, Psicología Básica y Salud Pública, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain

Agustín Coca Pérez
Professor, Social Anthropology, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain