November 30, 2006— The Andes Mountain Range extends for thousands of kilometers, forming the spine of Latin America. Chile contains the longest stretch of these mountains, which tower majestically above the nation’s capital, Santiago. The mountains are home to a Mediterranean ecosystem, “the matorral and sclerophyllous forest,†that is unique to this part of the planet. Due to the high level of endemism among the almost 500 species of flora and fauna found only in these mountains, this ecosystem is classified as a high conservation priority at global level. Six hundred thousand hectares of Andean foothills are found in the Santiago area alone, covering almost 85 percent of the total surface area. Despite the size of the foothills, many residents are unaware of the interdependence between themselves and the mountain ecosystem. In 1993, as a result of the problem presented by the lack of awareness and the fragility of the ecosystem, the Association of Municipalities set about launching a project to preserve the biodiversity of the Santiago foothills, protect the flora and fauna, and contribute to building a more nature-connected society. With the slogan “For love of our city and these mountains, the Letter to the Mountains was signed here,†a project called “Protege†(Protect) was created with the support of seven municipalities that border the mountain range. The mission of Protege is to create a large natural park in Santiago’s foothills, the Santiago Foothills Park, that will: - Invite the residents of Santiago to learn about and care for the mountains.
- Help improve people’s quality of living by creating spaces for recreation, outdoor education, and research.
- Promote and protect the biodiversity and ecological unity of this ecosystem.
- Bring people closer to the key values that guide their relationship with nature, inspiration, their fellow human beings, and themselves.
Mayors, communities, municipalities, landowners, professionals, artists, mule drivers, hikers, park rangers, youth, children, and many other people joined this project. Additionally, the participants worked to establish a network of trust involving the government, municipalities, private firms, NGOs, educators, researchers, and the community at large. The idea was to transform this effort into a project by and for the city. International Aid Based on the principle “think global, act local,†and given the international consensus on the importance of protecting the biodiversity of Santiago’s foothills for current and future generations, Protege sought international help to secure the human, technical, and financial resources needed to continue the project. Most of the support for the implementation of the “Santiago Foothills: Mountain Ecosystem Conservation†Project came from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and the World Bank, and was between 2002 and 2006. This project aimed at providing in situ conservation and restoration of 13,352 hectares of foothills located near Santiago. Three years after receiving the GEF funding, the project has achieved many results that are helping to consolidate the vision of the park. Protege is building up a solid body of evidence on experiences and lessons learned for dissemination to groups involved in similar efforts, both in Chile and abroad. Thus, the project is helping make it possible to protect biodiversity for future generations.
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