The Intertidal Zone of the Chiloé Archipelago (Chile): Tensions Between Williche Eco-Ontological Conservation and Other Actors: A Situated Ethnographic Dialogue

This study reviews the ontological and worldview dimensions of the island inhabitants of the Chiloé archipelago in southern Chile and their contribution to sustaining the ecosystem relationships that include them, with a special focus on the intertidal zone. These dimensions act by mediating people’s behaviour when implemented as long-standing traditional customs in a practical way (e.g., gathering or fishing), mitigating potential negative impacts on the environment. Although there are regulations that protect these areas, their cultural heritage, and ancestral techniques, these differ substantially from the actions and effects of other territorial actors engaged in the exploitation of nature. This research simultaneously employs a methodology based on classical ethnographic techniques and an autoethnography conducted by one of the authors of this article, who identifies as Wapiche, a Williche islander. The purpose of this, and the contribution of this collaborative work, is to go beyond the collection of ethnographic data and allow an islander to recount the reflexive processes that occur at the individual, family, and community levels and are not usually taken into account.