Browsing by Author "Salazar, Gonzalo"

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    An international student program in social-ecological systems: sustainable forest management and resilience thinking from local Andean-Patagonian forests to the world
    (2018) Ibarra Eliessetch, José Tomás; Gálvez, Nicolás; Bascopé, Martín; Luna, Laura; Salazar, Gonzalo
    The interconnected challenges of building resilience and generating sustainable forestry practices demand a holistic appreciation of social-ecological systems and requires us to step beyond disciplines to gain a broader understanding of the world. The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (QS Standard ranked #1st in Latin America) offers an academic program consisting of 5 modules where students and lecturers bring together different perspectives in order to generate sound research questions and propose innovative solutions to real-world problems in environmental, forestry, and socio-cultural issues. The main objective of the program is to promote a holistic and critical understanding of forest and culture interactions based on an interdisciplinary methodology with a strong practical-based work. An integrative set of modules fosters greater links between the natural and social sciences, in order to engage with the complex issues of biodiversity conservation, forest management, inter-ethnic relations, and policy-making for sustainable development. The program comprises the following courses: 1. Latin American Conservation; 2. Conservation of Forest Ecosystems and Wildlife; 3. Territory, Interculturality and Education for Sustainability; 4. Interdisciplinary Methods for Inquiring Social-Ecological Systems; and 5. Planning for Sustainability. This program can be adapted for either undergraduate or graduate students, and for a full term or an intensive summer school. It takes place at the southern campus of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (Sede regional de villarrica Campus) and its surroundings, a unique setting in southern Chile characterized by multiple land covers/uses (forests, volcanoes, lakes, rivers, human settlements and protected areas) and cultural backgrounds (indigenous peoples, non-indigenous peasants, immigrants, and long-term settlers). In this presentation we introduce the aims, content and the potential of this program for forestry students from around the world
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    From the Utopia of Sustainable Development to Sustainable Topoi
    (CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS, 2023) Salazar, Gonzalo; Acuna, Valentina; Valera, Luca; CEDEUS (Chile)
    The hegemonic discourse of sustainable development adopted as an international alternative solution to the socio-ecological crisis has implied a progression of the modern utopian project and most importantly, an intrinsic contradiction and omission that positions sustainable development as something that is not in any place. To understand, discuss, and transcend this oxymoron, we first review the modern utopian project and analyze its paradigmatic and ontological assumptions about knowledge, time, and space. Second, we show that sustainable development just re-adapted the founding premises of the modern utopias. Third, to transcend the modern utopian facet of sustainable development, we suggest an understanding of sustainability that stems from a topographical way of thinking. We suggest this approach allows us to seek alternatives to the modern epistemology and ontology that have shaped the current dominant vision of sustainable development. Finally, we propose to move from the modern utopia of sustainable development to the praxis of topographical sustainabilities to trigger a more comprehensive and relational praxis of sustainability.