Río Colorado – Río Olivares Multiple-Use Conservation Area

Following the creation of Glaciares de Santiago National Park in 2023, local communities called for a solution that honors both tradition and nature.

In response, Andean Conservancy, together with local herders (arrieros), proposed the creation of Chile’s first Multiple-Use Conservation Area (ACMU), a milestone in the country’s conservation history.

In 2025, the proposal was approved by the Council of Ministers for Sustainability, establishing a new model that integrates cultural and ecological stewardship at the landscape scale.

This will be the first protected area in Chile to recognize transhumance, the seasonal movement of herders and their livestock, as an object of conservation, and the first to use regenerative grazing as a conservation tool. The initiative sets a precedent for biocultural conservation, demonstrating how traditional livelihoods and modern ecological practices can work together to restore and protect Andean mountain ecosystems.

Juncal Andean Park

The first private protected area in Latin America and the Caribbean to receive Ramsar designation (2010), Juncal Andean Park safeguards 14,000 hectares of high-Andean wetlands and the headwaters of the Aconcagua River—a critical water source for central Chile.

Río Clarillo National Park

Since 2010, we have contributed to the reclassification of this park, which became the first national park in the Santiago Metropolitan Region in 2020.

Its 13,000 hectares protect one of the last Mediterranean ecosystems in central Chile and serve as a global example of urban-adjacent conservation.

Río Pascua Protected National Asset 

We are advancing the creation of a large public conservation area encompassing the entire Pascua River Basin—the third-largest river in Chile and the only one draining the Southern Patagonian Ice Field into the Pacific Ocean.

This project seeks to protect a glacial-fluvial ecosystem of global significance through a model of community-driven conservation.

Community Conservation Plan for the Patagonian Ice Fields

This initiative aims to protect the biodiversity and ecosystems surrounding the Patagonian Ice Fields, promoting conservation rooted in local communities.

In collaboration with residents, Indigenous peoples, and local stakeholders from the Aysén and Magallanes regions, the project fosters sustainable livelihoods and production systems—such as ecotourism, artisanal fishing, conservation-based forest management, and regenerative livestock farming—integrating traditional knowledge with applied science.

Through education, training, and organizational strengthening, we work to ensure that communities lead the protection of their territories—from glaciers and fjords to forests, wetlands, and watersheds—in this unique region of the planet.