Environmental governance with an ethnic approach: a management commitment in protected areas in the Colombian Caribbean

Abstract

The creation of protected areas is a mechanism that allows counteracting the impact caused by man due to the exploitation of natural resources. However, the designations of some areas are often inadequate, since they do not meet true objectives of biodiversity conservation and effective participation of communities, especially Indigenous communities. The present study is a contribution to guide institutional management with the participation of ethnic groups in the processes of protection and conservation of protected areas, in order to promote the improvement of the environmental quality of ecosystems and a harmonious use of natural resources from the cultural precepts of the Wayuu ethnic group from a model of environmental governance. The qualitative research criteria and the ethnographic method were followed, applying techniques and instruments contextualized to the ethnic group. An environmental governance strategy is proposed for the conservation of ecosystem services in Wayuu communities of the Integrated Management District of Musichi (Manaure, La Guajira), which seeks the integration and participation of different social actors, in order to improve the use of ecosystem services, regulated by a legal administrative figure that reflects the meeting of knowledge based on the intercultural dialogue, respect for and appreciation of the indigenous worldview and its forms of traditional knowledge.