Peter Van Aert

COVID-19 reaffirms that we are living out the consequences of the Anthropocene. In terms of education this affirmation has considerable implications: we must overcome the profound divisions between the fields of Natural Sciences and the Social Sciences while at the same time recognizing the political character of educational and scientific practices.Sustainability is an idea that potentially embodies the elements that respond to these two challenges, but only distancing ourselves from a technocratic-instrumental approximation and assuming a political approach to the idea. Post-normal science provides an adequate framework for this because the emerging problems present democratic challenges that demand other academic and educational treatment.Our intention with this text is to contribute didactic material that incentivizes the introduction of this conceptual debate into the classroom setting. Far from proposing a confrontation between the dominant mode of thought, in this paper we propose an argument that seeks to untangle the basic components of our thesis and show the arbitrariness of all the theoretical constructions that result from that. We hope, in this way, to contribute to a transdisciplinary environmental and sustainability education that consists in uncovering the political dimension of this issue, to repoliticize education, transcend the division between relativism and objectivism and, encourage theoretical positioning without determinisms.

Environmental scientists and managers increasingly recognize that socio-cultural evaluations expand the understanding of human–nature relationships. Here, user groups’ perceptions of the benefits from and threats to nature were analysed in Tierra del Fuego National Park, Argentina. We hypothesized that the different relationships of users to this place would lead to significantly different valuations among local Ushuaia residents (n = 122), Argentine nationals (n = 147) and international tourists (n = 294). All users perceived a broad spectrum of benefits. The three groups assessed intrinsic and relational values more highly than instrumental benefits, and significant differences included a higher mean valuation of benefits by Argentine visitors. Overall, threats were less perceived than benefits, and significant differences included a higher mean threat assessment by Ushuaia residents. To explain these relationships, we found that mean valuations of benefits and threats were weakly related to increased biodiversity knowledge for residents and international tourists, but not for Argentine visitors. These findings can orient environmental management in Patagonia and elsewhere by identifying areas where information can improve user experiences and by contributing a more pluralistic understanding of nature from multiple stakeholders.