BURBANO GARCIA, Lenin Horacio; MOLINA GUTIERREZ, Teresa de Jesús    LIZCANO CHAPETA, Carlos Javier. Social representations: a possibility to understand the symbolisms of environmental protection. Ancestral commune of indigenouspeople pasto la libertad. []. , 17, 79, pp. 178-185.   02--2021. ISSN 1990-8644.

The theory of social representations is interested in symbolic productions and in the language through which individuals construct their worlds. In this context, we sought to interpret the social representations elaborated by the community members and officials of the Ministry of Tourism and Environment of the Province of Carchi as a symbolic-cultural manifestation of environmental conservation in the face of tourist activities. To this end, a hermeneutic method was used to deconstruct the meanings and reveal the beliefs. The key informants were integrated by eight community members and six public officials. The findings indicate that the way in which the community members understand the reality of tourist activities indicates that they would be active in: tourism and environmental management, guiding, customer service, local gastronomy, the elaboration of handicrafts with local resources, and agro-ecology. While the set of beliefs, values and knowledge shared by the group of officials of the M.A.T., reveals that they identify with innovative and inclusive perspectives, attached to the principles of sustainability. Although the experiences and background of both groups of informants lead them to construct some contrasting perceptions regarding the management of tourism and environmental activities.

: Social representations; ecotourism; environmental education; sustainability.

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