Nuestros investigadores

Contemporary environmental sensitivity has characterized for decades the emerging culture in the developed world. It is not yet mainstream in influencing behavior at a global level, as the growing environmental impact of consumerism testifies particularly to it. Present day environmental sensitivity seems somehow at odds with Christianism, charged for decades alongside Judaism with major responsibility in the environmental crisis. This paper explains and discusses on seven interlinked aspects of the environmental value amply recognized across environmentalism. In examining them, Christian environmentalism learns particularly some demands of the Christian vocation that may remain neglected and demand a moral conversion both of Christians and of no non-Christians and non-believers. In accepting this demand, the Christian discerns the life-giving presence of Christ in many traits of the environmental sensitivity and culture. This encounter offers grounds for a reciprocal understanding and enrichment of Christians and non-believers or non-Christians, towards the attainment of a wider and deeper respect of environmental and human shared values.

El Convenio Europeo del Paisaje (2000) reconoció la necesidad de desarrollar propuestas formativas y de sensibilización en materia de paisaje, encaminadas a lograr una ciudadanía concienciada y activa. Por este motivo, es adecuado conocer las ideas previas sobre paisaje de los ciudadanos, para, a partir de éstas, diseñar propuestas que respondan a las necesidades educativas reales. El presente artículo tiene por objeto mostrar una breve encuesta diseñada para lograr una primera aproximación a las ideas previas y preferencias paisajísticas del alumnado de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria de Navarra.

A primary aim of environmental education is to promote environmental values. Significant life experiences (SLE) are a powerful, fast and long-lasting way to achieve this objective, but they have received little scholarly attention thus far. As examples to help us characterize SLE and understand their function, the cases of three well-known environmentalists, Seton, Leopold, and Rodriguez de la Fuente, will be studied. All three environmentalists came into contact with wolves and looked them in the eye. These experiences, described as SLE, resulted in major changes in these environmentalists' lives. Although SLE are not reproducible on demand, by studying these cases through the narratives and biographies of these environmentalists, we can shed light on how to facilitate or promote, when possible, the acquisition of deep and lasting values through environmental education.

El Convenio Europeo del Paisaje, celebrado en el año 2000 en respuesta a la creciente preocupación por la pérdida de los paisajes europeos, incidió en la necesidad e importancia de educar y sensibilizar a la ciudadanía en materia de paisaje. La presente investigación tiene por objeto abordar el estudio de la educación paisajística en el contexto de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria en España. En primer lugar se han analizado las propuestas educativas de mayor implicación paisajística, como la Institución Libre de Enseñanza y la legislación educativa desarrollada a lo largo de los últimos cincuenta años. Para, en segundo lugar, servir de sustrato en el análisis comparativo tanto del Diseño Curricular Base como de sus Currículos Oficiales autonómicos dentro del actual marco LOMCE.

Desde las primeras convenciones internacionales en defensa del medio ambiente celebradas en los años 70 se ha venido destacando el importante papel que desempeña la educación para promover cambios de actitudes y comportamientos hacia la naturaleza y la sociedad, y favorecer la adopción de un modelo de desarrollo más justo y sostenible. En este contexto, el presente artículo explora el potencial educativo del impacto ambiental y analiza su presencia en los currículos de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y Bachillerato. Además, se muestran los resultados de una primera aproximación investigadora sobre su enseñanza en la Universidad.

La conciencia ambiental es característica en nuestra cultura, y plantea múltiples retos educativos. Las elecciones ambientales no dejan de construirnos... o destruirnos, tanto personal como colectivamente, en dimensiones corporales o culturales, en el individuo humano y en su paisaje. Entre ser humano y naturaleza existe un vínculo, común a ambos, de humanidad y naturalidad que no puede olvidarse en la educación sin erosionar el valor y el respeto del ser humano y la naturaleza a la vez. Este artículo busca impulsar la educación en medio ambiente mediante el desarrollo de la inteligencia espiritual y viceversa, con el fin de alimentar nuestro conocimiento con una profundidad y universalidad que necesitamos. En particular, destaca el papel cultural de la ciencia ecológica y resalta que la diferencia esencial entre los seres humanos y su medio natural permite - y debe - alimentar el respeto de ambos a través de la importancia y valor del recíproco.

The knowledge of biodiversity within an area is vital if we want to develop adequate conservation strategies. Biosphere Reserves are purposefully established for the sustainable use of their resources, and therefore their biodiversity should be well known. We compared and evaluated information available for Mexican Biosphere Reserves on threatened and non-threatened vertebrate species records from three different sources ¿ the corresponding Biosphere Reserves management plans (MPs), the Global Biodiversity Information Facility index (GBIF), and scientific literature, in order to find potential knowledge gaps. Our results suggest that there were varying gaps in information among sources according to vertebrate group. For each group of vertebrate species, management plans held the largest subsets of information but were not complete, ranging from 89.6% of the combined known species of birds to 70% for amphibians and freshwater fishes. However, both GBIF and literature included data absent from MPs, and GBIF included data not otherwise available, proving it as important as literature or other data sources (e.g. field data) used for crafting such plans. Moreover, we found references to threatened species that were not listed in the MPs, reaching to as many as 50% of the total known species of fish. Species information shared by all three sources ranged from 28% for amphibians to 72.5% for birds. Conservation efforts should therefore take into account that possibly less charismatic taxa such as amphibians, reptiles and freshwater fish lack more information than birds or mammals. The disparity observed in the vertebrate species information constitutes an information gap that could (or should) be solved by scientists and managers alike.

Simultaneous monitoring of wild mammal roadkills and underpass use was conducted for two years along two neighboring highways in Navarre (Northern Spain). The A-15 highway runs across a rugged, more natural terrain than the A-10 highway, which runs along a flat, mainly agrarian valley. Tunnels, viaducts and cut rock walls occur exclusively in A-15. Medium and large-sized mammal roadkill data were collected on a weekly basis wwhilst driving along both directions of the highways at a regular speed of 80 km/h. Infrared sensitive systems were used in 26 selected underpasses during eight 7-day monitoring campaigns evenly distributed along the study period to monitor the use of underpasses by wildlife. The combined analysis of both sets of data showed that: (1) wire fencing does not prevent animal crossings, (2) virtually all of the monitored species occurring in the area are eventually run over, (3) very narrow underpasses are efficient in permeating the roads, even to the apparently most demanding species, (4) although underpasses have proven permeating structures, they do not totally prevent roadkills nearby them, (5) tunnels and viaducts are the only fully effective structures to completely prevent roadkills locally, (6) if occurring repeatedly, tunnel and viaducts reduce the roadkill rate for the entire road, (7) isolation phenomena may be ruled out for species having been run over, (8) European hedgehog was repeatedly run over, but no underpass crossing was registered for this species, (9) the joint consideration of road kill and use of underpasses data has proved a good approach to analyze permeability.

This book collects the main outcomes that were generated during the implementation of the LIFE+RESPIRA project (LIFE13 ENV/ES/000417), carried out in the city of Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. The research was conducted by a cross-functional team made up of more than 30 researchers belonging to three entities: The University of Navarra, the Centre for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT) and Environmental Management of Navarra (GAN-NIK).

Se trata sobre la contemplación del mundo y la educación ambiental, cómo la mirada determina en buena parte nuestra relación con lo mirado y cómo en ocasiones puede activar nuestra inteligencia espiritual