LISSACATHINA FULICA (BOWDICH, 1822) (MOLLUSCA: GASTROPODA: STYLOMMATOPHORA: ACHATINIDAE), THREATENES CUBAN ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN HEALTH

Abstract

The research proposes through interviews, workshops, talks and sociocultural encounters, to link the inhabitants of the town of Caibarién located in the municipality of the same name in the province of Villa Clara, Cuba, to the knowledge of Invasive Exotic Species and their undesirable effects to the Cuban vulnerable ecosystems and to human health and in particular of the Lissachatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822) species, the Giant African Snail. For the effective development of this research, theoretical and empirical methods are used to address the multilateral study of the research object. The research represents a novel way of appropriating new knowledge about the L. fulica species by the inhabitants of Caibarién. In the interviews carried out, it was found that some inhabitants had certain knowledge about the African Giant Snail, not about the harmful effects that this animal can cause to the vulnerable Cuban ecosystems and to human health. The proposal of the workshops, talks and sociocultural meetings were valued as relevant by the different external evaluators, which allowed applying the activities in different popular councils. Through these activities, spaces for exchange and reflection were created about the importance of knowing important aspects of this Invasive Exotic Species. This link of cooperation and awareness, allowed a rapprochement of the inhabitants with the researchers and the feedback of scientific knowledge with popular knowledge and it was possible to control this IAS in some areas of the city of Caibarién, with the active participation of the population.