ECOSYSTEM APPROACH
Our view of nature influences how we relate to the natural world. The ecosystem approach is an invitation to change the way we see and relate to nature.
For a long time, we were taught a utilitarian approach to nature as an inexhaustible source of resources. We have also been told nature is “the environment that surrounds us,” always placing humans at the center.
The ecosystem approach invites us to reconnect with nature and change our relationship with it based on the recognition of the natural values of the territory, and our participation as one more element of an interconnected system.
In this interconnected system, called nature, all its components, including human beings, are affected by the processes that happen here, and we can each contribute to its conservation or deterioration with the decisions we make every day.
What are your best memories in nature? What do you do to take care of nature?
MULTIDIMENSIONAL CONSERVATION
Conservation requires a multidimensional approach, i.e., it is not enough to consider only environmental and ecological aspects; other dimensions must also be considered for it to be effective.
Conservation requires a multidimensional approach that goes beyond what is strictly ecological.
Effective conservation requires working on five dimensions simultaneously: the environmental dimension, the social dimension, the cultural dimension, the economic dimension, and the institutional dimension, which is essential for safeguarding conservation and is therefore at the center of the multidimensional approach.
MERI Foundation contributes to the effective conservation model mainly from the environmental and social dimensions, carrying out scientific research and environmental education, at the service of conservation, and in partnership with communities.
Conservation requires knowledge, understanding, and monitoring of the species that inhabit the territories, specifically those that are threatened by anthropogenic factors, in order to promote solutions to reduce their threats. MERI works in partnership with national and international institutions to conduct scientific research, environmental education programs, and engagement activities relevant to the territory.
Territorial relevance is achieved by prioritizing Conservation Targets (CTs) in each territory where the Effective Conservation model –Elemental Reserves– is applied. These targets may be vulnerable and threatened species or ecosystems, and MERI’s lines of action, in science, environmental education, and community engagement, are aimed at minimizing the threats to and knowledge gaps about these CTs, and strengthening the active role of the community, and society as a whole, in their conservation.
In this way, MERI Foundation seeks to protect biological diversity from a multidimensional and comprehensive perspective, because it understands that humans are part of this diversity and that the health of the environment has a direct impact on the health of all the species that inhabit the planet.
CLIMATE CHANGE
The Earth’s climate naturally shifts between colder and warmer weather over long periods of time, allowing living things to adapt to these changes. However, human activities have influenced the Earth’s natural climate change, substantially affecting all of its inhabitants.
Although it is a natural process, it has been accelerated by human activities, which emit greenhouse gases (GHG).These gases accumulate in the atmosphere, continuously increasing the temperature of the planet. This influences the variation of the world’s climate, consequently affecting the inhabitants living in the most vulnerable areas.
The consequences of prolonged droughts, floods, melting ice, sudden hurricanes, and desertification, among many other phenomena, reflect the multidimensional impact of climate change.
Global warming has become a planetary emergency that requires all agents of society to intervene collaboratively.
How do you think climate change affects your territory?
Chile’s geographic characteristics make it a great natural laboratory for studying the consequences of climate change and proposing mitigation alternatives.
Learn more about the work carried out by the MERI Foundation in relation to Climate Change.