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Control ID 1657374 Environmental Perceptions of Surface Water Quality and Management: a tool to strengthen public participation in the search for solutions to the imbalance of water in nature. A study applied in Chiapas’s Río Fogótico Microbasin Mara Cristina Benez, Ciram/ EPAGRI: Researcher, Rod. Admar Gonzaga, 1.347, Itacorubi, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brasil, CEP 88034-901, Tel: 55 48 96237593, [email protected] Edith F. Kauffer Michel, CIESAS-Sureste: Reseacher/teacher, Carretera San Cristóbal-Chamula km 3.5, Barrio La Quinta San Martín, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México, CP 29289, Tel: 52 967-67491-00 , [email protected]; [email protected] The study of environmental perceptions can expose interesting perspectives of the imbalance of water in nature related to historical, social, cultural and biophysical context of the study population. The main objective of this study was to assess the perceptions of surface water quality and management in the Fogótico River watershed in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico from the perspective of different social groups. A secondary objective consisted in analyzing the differences of perceptions according to social groups, identifying the factors that influence these perceptions and considering the potential contribution of perception studies for watershed management. The social groups were defined according to the nature of their daily activities or work related to water quality - i.e., “political”, “institutional” and “water user”. The research was carried out using qualitative tools. Chiapas´s Rio Fogótico microbasin: different perceptions, values and attitudes related to water quality and management Aspects revealed by the research The research revealed the different aspects of the imbalance of nature in the watershed in terms of the problems and solutions, with a prevalence of a critical attitude toward the actions of others. Added to that, the research identified aspects that influence perceptions, such as the worldview and the location of the stakeholders in the watershed. The differences in perception between social groups also helped to identify their relationship to the deficient or disjointed actions of water authorities, the legal framework, community organization and gender issues that influence perceptions of the imbalance of water in nature. Chiapas´s Rio Fogótico microbasin: different perceptions, values and attitudes related to water quality and management CONCLUSION Table. Categories emerged during the process of analyzing the information obtained from the social groups from their way of perceiving the problems relating to water Categories/ Social groups Water quality Sources of contamination Solutions and responsibilities Water users Perception by the senses. Influence of environment physical ambient. Heterogeneous perceptions within group as following cultural aspects. Visual perception. Direct experience of the person in the environment. More specifically vision/ view. More localized. Specific actions to the location in the basin. Indigenous worldview. Socioeconomic conditions Political Institutional Access to information Evidence of cognitive indirectly obtained from other process. Homogeneous people or media. Perceive perceptions within group and more elements of the water in relation to the institutional problem. Generalized and group. expanded vision. Shared actions of the society Access to information Evidence of cognitive indirectly obtained from other process. Homogeneous people or media. Perceive Centralized actions. perceptions within group and more elements of the water Technical alternatives. in relation to the political problem. Generalized and group. expanded vision. Work activity. The study indicated the importance of having an open mind in observing the values and processes that influence environmental perceptions and consequently influence the success of watershed management in the search for solutions to the imbalance of water in nature. The results also lead us to reflect on the fact that a watershed management model should be developed by adaptating national guidelines at the local level and learning from decision making through participatory processes, which necessarily must include those involved. We conclude with a reflection on the potential contribution of environmental perception studies for river watershed management and public participation in the search for solutions to the imbalance of water in nature. Aditional details: 1. BENEZ, M. C. ; KAUFFER, E. F. ; MORAES, D. S. ; ÁLVAREZ, G. G. . El estudio de las percepciones de la gestión de la calidad del agua, una herramienta para fortalecer la participación pública en la microcuenca del río Fogótico, en San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas.. Región y Sociedad, v. XXII, p. 73-104, 2010. 2. BENEZ, M. C. ; KAUFFER, E. F. ; ÁLVAREZ, G. G. . Percepciones ambientales de la calidad del agua superficial en la microcuenca del río Fogótico, Chiapas.. Frontera Norte, v. 22, p. 129-158, 2010. 3. BENEZ, M. C. ; KAUFFER, E. F..Percepciones y cosmovisiones en torno a la calidad del agua de los manantiales en una comunidad indígena: El Crucero, municipio de San Juan Chamula, Chiapas. Culturas del agua y cosmovisión india en un contexto de diversidad cultural / Daniel Murillo Licea. Jiutepec, Mor. : Instituto Mexicano de Tenología del Agua, 2012.