Análisis del centro de interpretación del manglar de Puerto Hualtaco.

Abstract

The natural heritage of a territory constitutes something of great importance, since it gives off many services that human beings enjoy and depend on. The characteristics of each ecosystem of a territory can be so special that they deserve to be called heritage and as a consequence be protected in the present to be enjoyed by generations of the future, therefore, they must be protected. It is important to create areas where you can educate about the value of the benefits that a natural area brings, which harbors diversity of flora and fauna. The administration of the cities and the natural heritage of a country, of a region or city are responsible for spreading the value, through formal and non-formal education. There are some ways to reach a society with important messages about environmental education; This work will study one in particular as the interpretation centers can become a powerful tool for the environmental education of own and strangers of a territory. Puerto Hualtaco is an area of ​​tropical forest and an arm of the sea, an extensive network of estuaries and mangroves is woven around, so that its inhabitants are traditionally artisanal fishermen. Its climate is hot and dry throughout the year. Mainly they extract shells, crabs; It is fished in an artisanal way and shrimp and shrimp are harvested in captivity. The decentralized Autonomous Government Municipal Huaquillas for some years product of extensive projects, has a Mangrove Interpretation Center, with the objective of raising awareness among its citizens about the importance of the preservation and conservation of the mangrove ecosystem. This paper analyzes the forms of interpretation and mediation of the Mangrove Interpretation Center, located in Puerto Hualtaco, canton Huaquillas, with the purpose of proposing improvements to them. A need is identified on the site since, despite being a new building, the forms of interpretation are void, which makes it difficult to achieve the objective for which it was created, that is, educate the population about the mangrove ecosystem. A qualitative methodology was used, which is appropriate for the type of analytical research. Among the techniques used are observation to verify the interpretation and performance of the interpreter and the in-depth interview with the interpreters of the site, to visitors on two Saturdays. In conclusion, it was verified that the equipment and forms do not meet current comprehensive mediation criteria or meet the minimum presentation. The objective for which it was implemented is not being met, despite being a large and modern space, its facilities do not provide local and visitor environmental education tools on the conservation and assessment of existing ecosystems in the area. Therefore, in the last chapter, improvement strategies are proposed from the point of view of interpretation and environmental education, through the implementation of equipment, artifacts, didactic and technological resources.