Copiapoa cinérea, endemic cacti of Antofagasta, commonly found in private collections around the world. Image: Juan Mauricio Contreras.

By Diego Almendras

Northern Chile is among the driest regions in the world, but far from being a desolate, arid wilderness, the desert overflows with life.

But people are disturbing these fragile ecosystems and the cacti that live there. Land use changes in coastal areas that they inhabit, climate change that modifies water availability and illegal trade threaten these slow-growing plants.

Continue reading →

A leafy forest covers parts of Chile’s Hualpén Peninsula. Image: German Poo-Caamaño via Flikr

By Fabián Barría

Sea, cliffs and forest. That’s the natural landscape that tourists enjoy when they visit the Hualpén Peninsula, a nature sanctuary in the central-south of Chile and that shelters dozens of endemic species. Experts warn that the place could be irreparably damaged if a real estate project is approved in the middle of it.

Continue reading →

The Grayling Fish Hatchery facilities. Image Sara Alfaro Cornejo

By Sara Alfaro Cornejo

The Au Sable River, one of the most pristine water bodies in North America thanks to its stable base flow and temperatures, has been at the center of a dispute that is often repeated when it comes to projects with an environmental impact that faces organizations that protect the environment and companies that affect it.

Continue reading →

By Paula Díaz Levi

Despite the original abundance of its natural resources, mismanagement has led Chile to a serious water deficit. This is demonstrated by three emblematic cases where the major protagonists are fossil waters, avocados and rain forests.

Chile is a land of contrasts. In the north lies one of the most arid deserts on the planet, the central zone hosts one of the five Mediterranean ecosystems of the world and the south is marked by rain and lush forests.

Continue reading →