Cape Horn Field Station

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Research, Education and Conservation

Environmental Policy

Our work at Cape Horn—whether within the physical sciences, social sciences, the humanities, or the arts—is framed in terms of meeting the needs of communities and policy makers operating at local, regional, national, and international scales.  Policy makers need succinct knowledge delivered in a timely manner. This challenges academics to speak in clear language that is sensitive to context.

In both research and education at Cape Horn, knowledge is placed within interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary contexts:

-interdisciplinary, because addressing societal problems requires information and techniques that cross disciplinary boundaries;

-transdisciplinary, because communities, NGOs, and the public and private sectors need ‘de-disciplined’ knowledge immediately relevant to their strategic needs.

Our research aims to incorporate a broad range of perspectives from various stakeholders – members of the indigenous Yaghans, members of the Chilean government and military, citizens of Chile, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such as UNESCO, an international team of science and humanities researchers, and tourism managers – on how to develop the Cape Horn region in a sustainable fashion.