National Parks
The country boasts 37 national parks, as well as nature reserves and monuments, which aim to reconcile biodiversity protection and tourism. Here are a few of the most emblematic:
Rapa Nui: located on Easter Island and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it protects a cultural and archaeological territory that is unique in the world.
Nevado Tres Cruces: located in the Atacama, it is remarkable both for its landscapes (deserts, salars, volcanoes) and its biodiversity.
Lauca : located in the north of the country, it is renowned for its lakes and wetlands, including one of the highest on the planet, Lake Chungara.
Patagonia:
Torres del Paine: renowned for its glaciers, lakes and mountains.
Cabo de Hornos : is the southernmost national park on the planet, and is home to the mythical Cape Horn.
Villarrica : this park is emblematic not only for its volcano, but also for its mountains and vast forests.
Vicente Pérez Rosales : Chile's oldest national park, home to Lake Todos los Santos and the Osorno volcano.
Patagonia National Park : , created in 2018 thanks to a donation of land from the Tompkins Foundation, is home to a rich biodiversity.
Pali Aike : frequented by many vulcanologists, it is renowned for its geology, including a terrain covered in basaltic lava.
Hornopirén, south of Puerto Montt, is home toalerce forests.
When fish farming harms the environment
Chile is the world's second largest salmon producer. However, this record conceals a worrying reality. The introduction of salmon - an exogenous species - has been accompanied by the introduction of pathogens (viruses, bacteria and parasites) that were previously absent from the environment, and which are causing disruption to ecosystems. The activity of these "salmoneras" is thus suspected of having a link not only with the "red tides", but also with the strandings of whales and other marine species that have been occurring on beaches for several years. Argentina decided in July 2021 to ban this type of farming, and NGOs are calling on Chile to follow suit.
Commons and "sacrificial areas" by the mining industry
The bay between Quintero and Puchuncavi, exposed to toxic discharges from heavy industry and the inertia of public authorities, has been described as a "zona de sacrificio". These also include areas degraded or contaminated by mining. The impact of mining activity is excessive water consumption and environmental pollution (air, water, soil), which not only affects the health of local populations, but also contributes to the disappearance of glaciers. The storage of mining waste poses a real threat, as illustrated by the El Mauro site, one of the world's largest reservoirs of mining waste. If it were to rupture, its toxic sludge could spill into the village of Caimano. The other aspect linked to industry is the over-consumption of water, in the hands of the operators (who have owned the springs and distribution since Pinochet), which contributes to exacerbating already severe water stress. In 2021, in the face of widespread local demands, the multinationals had to agree to release water to meet the needs of local populations, proving that David can prevail against Goliath. In 2020, a court decision put an end to the Pascua Lama gold mine project, for ecological and societal reasons. The Humboldt Penguin National Reserve owes its survival to the tenacity of fishing families in the face of large-scale projects, including a mining project.
Facing climate change
In 2019, the NGO Germanwatch ranked the country among the 20 most vulnerable to global warming. The center and south of the country are among the most exposed areas, with melting glaciers and desertification among the consequences. The country could experience a greater frequency and intensity of extreme events (droughts, fires, water shortages, floods). A study published in 2021 in the Journal of Climate highlights the role played by the warming of a pocket of warm water located in the South Pacific in the mega-droughts the country has been experiencing since 2010. Water shortages and droughts are already a reality in some territories, where in 2021 and 2022 residents had to be supplied with water by truck. As well as affecting drinking water resources, Chile's water crisis is also affecting agriculture and industry (mining in particular).
Initiatives that are flourishing
In 2019, over 4 million hectares in Patagonia were protected thanks to partly private donations. The aim is to increase the surface area of national parks and connect them together, so as to maintain the evolutionary dynamics of living organisms. On the climate front, the country is committed to carbon neutrality by 2050, through the development of renewable energies (Cerro Dominador solar thermal power plant, Cielis de Tarapaca seawater hydrosolar power plant), as well as the closure of coal-fired power plants. Water management is also a key issue. In the hands of multinationals, its over-consumption for mining and export monocultures is to the detriment of local populations and ecosystems. Rivers and lakes are drying up, as in the case of Lake Aculeo, which has suffered from both excessive water extraction and drought linked to climate change. Faced with these dramatic situations, demands have grown to fight for the preservation of life, against "sacrificed zones" and for the reappropriation of water management as a "common good". It was against this backdrop that the population voted in a referendum in 2020, with a high turnout and in the midst of a pandemic, for a new constitution to be written by elected citizens. This new constitution was put to a referendum in 2022, but was overwhelmingly rejected. And it was the conservative opposition that won the constituent elections in May 2023.
