How can private lands contribute to the urgent need for conservation?
Tierra Austral Foundation has participated in the collaborative process to inform the “Effective Biodiversity Conservation: 30 Urgent Measures for 2030” report, that provides significant proposals to enhance public policies and protect the biodiversity of Chile.
Chile is one step closer to meeting its commitment to protect 30% of land by 2030, with the release of new guidelines to enhance public policies aimed at protecting biodiversity.
The 'Effective Biodiversity Conservation: 30 Urgent Measures for 2030' brought representatives from different organizations, backgrounds, interests, and political perspectives together to carefully analyze the current state of biodiversity conservation in Chile.
Victoria Alonso, Tierra Austral Foundation’s Executive Director, participated in the development of the document that aims to support future public policy, advising on the effective use of the Chilean equivalent of conservation easements – the Derecho Real de Conservación (DRC).
What is the Derecho Real de Conservación (DRC)?
The DRC is a legal tool approved by the Chilean Congress in 2016. The DRC enables private landowners to take long-term action to protect the conservation, ecological, scenic, cultural, historic, and sustainable land use attributes of their properties, while continuing to own, live on, enjoy, sell, or pass on their property to their heirs.
“As most of the land in the Mediterranean ecosystem in Central Chile is private, the use of this tool is fundamental to protect ecologically significant landscapes,” said Victoria.
Since 2019, Tierra Austral Foundation has achieved six land conservation agreements using the DRC within the 930,000 hectare Boldo to Cantillana corridor, which extends from the resort city of Zapallar on the Pacific coast to Cantillana, south of the capital city of Santiago. With this project and other areas protected by a DRC, Tierra Austral is contributing to Chile’s national goal of protecting approximately 30% of its ecosystems by 2030.
Tierra Austral is also increasing public awareness of the DRC tool at local, national, and even global forums.
This month, at the Australian Land Conservation Alliance conference – PLC23 Unite for Nature – held in Canberra, Australia, Victoria shared learnings about the practicality and effectiveness of the DRC as a land protection mechanism that accommodates a range of sustainable land uses, including forestry and agriculture.
Tierra Austral Foundation’s Boldo to Cantillana project is supported by BHP Foundation’s Environmental Resilience Program that empowers Indigenous Peoples and local communities who look after and protect more than 80% of the planet’s remaining biodiversity. Learn more.
