Obô National Park: Knowledge and perceptions about its importance in students of S. Tomé
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Abstract
In S. Tomé and Príncipe the National Park Obô was created in 2006 with the mission of preserving the important biodiversity of the territory. The present study sought to test the knowledge and perceptions of the Park of 112 students attending two schools in the Capital District, 51 from the 7th year and 61 from the 11th year of schooling. To this end, a questionnaire was administered to determine whether the students had already visited the Park; whether they knew the reasons for its creation; the type of activities that should or should not be allowed in it; the advantages and disadvantages of its existence; and if they had already benefited from it or not. The content of the answers was very similar in the students of both years of schooling, and most of them admitted to never having visited the Park and showed difficulties in locating it geographically. However, they were able to state several reasons to justify its creation, highlighting more advantages than disadvantages and claiming that its existence was not negative in personal or family terms. Overall, the respondents revealed a significant lack of knowledge of the National Park and schools seems not to have done enough to promote knowledge and the desire to visit.
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