EcoSyS

Objectives:

• Provide greater visibility on environmental projects by displaying a free, easy-to-use and community-managed database that gathers relevant projects and socio-environmental solutions.
• Function as a link between actions or projects, NGOs, foundations, specialists, investigators, activists and volunteers interested in environmental issues. We also seek to generate bridges between the productive, private, public and academic sectors.
• Bring the agroecological producer closer to the consumer without intermediaries, discovering a fair economy for both, promoting food sovereignty.

The problematic:

What is ecology? We could say that it is the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and their interactions (Begon et al. 2006). One might think that by referring to organisms, without explicitly emphasizing human beings, we would be ignoring the role of people in the ecosystem that surrounds them, and how they can alter their destiny. Thus, the group EcoSyS (acronym for Social and Sovereign Ecology) was born as a way of rethinking the concept of ecology. In our vision, ecology is the way in which we live together as a society, how we integrate and how we relate to the environment. We are a group of multidisciplinary professionals passionate about ecological activism involved in the generation, awareness and dissemination of content on the current socio-ecological situation.

Ecosystems determine our way of living. Lately we are witnessing a deep social inequality through the degradation or scarcity of natural resources. We modify nature through our social constructions, so taking care of the environment becomes not only a responsibility but a necessity. We should take more inclusive actions if the social actors have sovereignty over their territory. It is the vindication of a very simple principle: the population should have a greater role in making decisions about resources, understanding the importance they have for their economy, health and environment.

Knowledge becomes key tools for raising awareness and bringing changes in how power functions in a democracy. We live in an era dominated by technology and science. It is imperative to have a good balance in the flow of information from the dominant sectors and the people to revert socio-environmental inequality. To collaborate with this balance, our goal is to bring citizens closer to scientific research, projects with an environmental perspective, educational experiences, and reflections on current environmental conflicts.

Our project:

For this reason, we developed an interactive map based on geographic coordinates where activists, science professionals, participants, volunteers and collaborators of all ages can share their actions and ideas. Currently, we have three categories: Biodiversity Conservation, Agroecological Experiences, and Environment & Society, each with their respective subcategories.

Uploading a project is as easy as generating a user at http://www.ecosys-mapa.org/, adding a description, contact information and details of the members who work on it, links to social media, geographical scope, photographs, linked videos to YouTube or Vimeo, and other features. The map shows various socio-environmental problems that are generating local activism and could find a support network at a national level. Because we believe that these struggles are won through greater visibility and, therefore, massive claims, we understand that their dissemination at a national level is vital. In turn, the map also has projects on conservation that are essential to connect researchers throughout the country and the rest of society so that they know which organisms are present in each province and what is being studied about them. Ultimately, we believe that only what is known and valued can be protected and preserved. Finally, the map has projects on agro-ecological experiences, perhaps mostly represented by agroecological orchards. The latter are a key engine to provide an answer to food sovereignty. In short, with the Escazú Agreement in force, we believe that our map will be very relevant so that access to socio-environmental information is freer for everyone.

In this way we hope to empower and give visibility to the people and enterprises that are working for a nature-human balance that is beneficial to both parties. Our website also has other spaces to broadcast journalistic or academic articles, photographic essays, documentaries, podcasts and more audiovisual formats.

Goals for 2023 and 2024:

• We are looking for collaborators who want to add their ideas, studies and workshops to our map database. 
• We want to create links and interdisciplinary collaboration to enrich and promote an equal dialogue, seeking solutions to socio-environmental problems. 
• We hope that our efforts become an educational tool, so that the new generations are more responsible and aware of the environment.
• We would love to start working on an english translation to make our map accessible for the international community.
• Although the basis of our digital informational tools were developed by our own team, it is necessary for the organization to hire a web programmer to improve our platform.
• The design of our platforms was carried out by self-taught members of EcoSyS. Although the development that a programmer can achieve is of vital importance, the complement with the graphic design of web pages is another important aspect that we must materialize to achieve high-quality digital tools.
• The group is supported by the time and unpaid work of those who participate and does not have any kind of economic income, it is necessary to promote EcoSyS on social media and to acquire technological equipment that allows the generation and broadcasting of audiovisual content. This will allow us to reach more volunteers and collaborators. 
• At the same time, we believe that it is also essential to organize events where scientific and environmental information can be brought closer to the local communities and generate debate on current socio-environmental issues. Whether in primary, secondary, tertiary or university educational institutions, the way in which the information is presented must be attractive. We also believe it is pertinent to include other material and technological expenses to develop these activities. and face-to-face events.