Diseño de una propuesta de fortalecimiento del sistema de información ambiental de Galápagos

Abstract

The Galápagos National Park relies on the cooperation of naturalist guides to monitor visitor sites that are visited daily by park rangers. Thanks to the cooperation of the guides, park rangers can make strategic decisions for the maintenance and conservation of the park’s visitor areas. The general objective of this document is to design a participatory proposal to strengthen the observation reporting module of the Galápagos Environmental Information System. The importance of this project lies in the fact that, by improving the observation system, it seeks to increase guide participation and achieve greater coverage for decision-making and the conservation of life in Galápagos. The Design Thinking methodology was used for the development of this research; anonymous surveys were conducted with naturalist guides from the archipelago to identify their pain points and perspectives, as well as interviews with administrative staff of the park to validate the project. Patterns of demotivation among guides in generating reports were identified due to the lack of feedback and recognition from the park regarding the guides’ efforts. Visitors should be integrated as collaborators to increase reporting coverage by following a citizen science approach, and the reporting system should be simplified to make it easier to use. Keywords: Feedback, Guides, Communication, Citizen science