Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 85 (3): 267-280, 2012
REVIEW ARTICLE
Biodiversity conservation in Chile: New challenges and opportunities in terrestrial and
marine coastal ecosystems
Biodiversity loss caused by population growth, the demand of resources and
productive activities is inconsistent with the recognition of its importance. In terrestrial ecosystems, the National State System of
Protected Areas (SNASPE) contains about 19 % of continental Chile. Although it does not represent all the ecosystems with
endangered species, it can be supplemented by implementing new public and private protected areas (PA and PPP, respectively). The
development of Marine Protected Areas (AMP) is emerging, and some strategies share conservation responsibility with local
stakeholders. In Chile, a set of regulations, laws and international treaties promote different conservation opportunities in land and
marine coastal ecosystems. Some of the derived challenges involve standardizing the classification of species in conservation
categories according to an international Protocol and optimizing the methodologies for selecting priority conservation areas; both
criteria are essential for decision-making in biodiversity conservation. Another challenge is integrating the intrinsic value of biodiversity
and the ecosystem services provided for promoting a participatory culture. This would improve the effectiveness of different strategies
for the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity, involving education and citizen participation from a bio-cultural perspective.
Education promotes nature conservation, as people become aware of their environment. Since participation involves citizens as actors
in decision-making, it promotes the effective implementation of strategies for the conservation of biodiversity.
Key words:
citizen
participation, marine protected areas, private conservation, protected wildlife areas.
