Study of environmental perceptions in communities of the Southern coast (Yateritas- Macambo)

Abstract

The study of environmental perceptions as a methodological tool in the environmental research allows to know how the population perceives its environment based on assessment criteria, related to the sense of belonging and identity. The following study approaches the way inhabitants of nine communities of the semi-arid region of Guantánamo perceive their environment offering knowledge that permits to establish environmental management plans and other actions which contribute to the sustainable ecological development of the region. To achieve this goal, it was used a descriptive scheme that establishes categories of the most general environmental perceptions: knowledge-sensibility-disposition to change and the quantitative and qualitative methodology. The results show the environmental perception by the communitary social groups of these communities, the main problems that persist and the alternatives for their solution, as well as the positive and negative features of environmental perceptions in the different segments of the population.