Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Biodiversity action plan wikipedia , lookup
Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project wikipedia , lookup
Mission blue butterfly habitat conservation wikipedia , lookup
Index of environmental articles wikipedia , lookup
Conservation agriculture wikipedia , lookup
Marine conservation wikipedia , lookup
Private landowner assistance program wikipedia , lookup
Operation Wallacea wikipedia , lookup
Conservation biology wikipedia , lookup
Habitat conservation wikipedia , lookup
Sustainable Tourism Development Task force Template for good practice (GP) KARUKINKA: A Title of the GP Partnership for Conservation and Recreation: The Story Begins Country / organization CHILE/WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY presenting the GP Destination where the GP takes place TIERRA DEL FUEGO, CHILE UNEP's classification (is the GP directly related with UNEP's classification?) Transportation X Education Energy use Communication X Training Policy Area of activity Water use Land planning Waste Chemicals Type of activity X Action plans X Partnerships X Local economy Waste water Building and construction Other: TASK FORCE's classification (is the GPdirectly related with one of the task force's current classification) X Climate change global stakes (see notification and agenda) X Biodiversity X Cultural and natural heritage X Local development BP classification for the workshops (see notification and agenda) A Mobilization of financing B Sustainable heritage management patterns C Governance and territorial actors D Value chain and corporate social -and environmental- responsibility CONTACT INFORMATION Web site Publication(s) Contact person www.wcs.org Bárbara Saavedra [email protected] STAKEHOLDERS (Name, type of local/regional/national authority, organisation, company or other stakeholder involved) Goldman Sachs Investment Company, Forestry National Corporation of Chile (CONAF), The National Environmental Commission (CONAMA), Fundacion Patagonia, Karukinka Advisory Council, The Government of Chile, The U.S. Forest Service, Wildlife Conservation Society DESCRIPTION of the GOOD PRACTICE Detailed description Karukinka is a 680,000 acre private protected area owned by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and located in the southwestern sector of Tierra del Fuego Island in Chile. Title to the property was gifted to WCS in 2004 by the Goldman Sachs Investment Company, which continues to provide some financial support. Karukinka contains several unique ecosystems, including the largest stands of primary southern beech forests (lenga), peat bogs, high mountain meadows and grasslands. Human presence is extremely low. These large stands of old growth lenga are of great importance at a global scale because of the small amount of temperate forests in the Southern Hemisphere. Karukinka will be one of the few protected areas available to tourists in this remote and spectacular location. WCS’ primary goal for the property is to conserve Karukinka’s wildlife, restore the ecological quality and representation of its most important ecosystems. WCS has three conservation objectives for Karukinka which include maintaining and enhancing the ecological quality and representation of the major ecosystem types within the Karukinka; recovering flow regimes and nutrient cycles associated with these ecosystems, and helping the recovery of endangered and vulnerable species. The large size of the Karukinka properties and the relatively undisturbed habitats they contain provide an exceptional opportunity for WCS to play a key role not only in the protection of the properties themselves, but in the conservation effort throughout Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia as a whole. In the pursuit of these objectives, WCS will develop a) a Management Plan for conservation, b) Control of exotic species, c) Research and conservation monitoring, d) Conservation beyond Karukinka, and e) Sustainable development. Through the development of all of these activities WCS expects to establish a permanent conservation presence in key areas of Karukinka in order to manage the properties as a private protected area that can be used for research, education, and tourism. A main goal of this conservation project is to provide opportunities for the development of local economic and social benefits. To achieve this, WCS developed a Public Use Plan for Karukinka for development of low impact infrastructure that will allow visitors, including tourists, managers, and scientist, to learn through the conservation program and experience the extraordinary biota and landscapes of Tierra del Fuego. Support for conservation at local and regional levels will be promoted through access to the site by local people, coordination with the local government, and professional collaborations. Karukinka will contribute to the social and economic development of the Magallanes Region and Chile, developing low impact economic activities that are compatible with the long term persistence of this extraordinary biota. WCS expects Karukinka to be a model of cooperation between private – public agents working together in the establishment of an ecologically and economically sustainable conservation area. The Public Use Plan describes development of infrastructure for activities like trekking, fauna watching, fly fishing, kayaking, and mountaineering, among others, which in coordination with the main conservation goals will allow the development of tourism for conservation. Activities offered visitors will be diverse, increasing the target for potential visitors (e.g. age, physical aptitude, interests). The implementation of Karukinka’s Public Use Plan will involve working with The National Environmental Commission (CONAMA), thought its “Sendero de Chile” Program to develop paths for visitors in natural areas; the US Forest Service, in coordination with the local NGO Fundación Patagonia, and the local CONAF (Forestry National Corporation) to develop a Volunteer System to invite people from the US and Chile to work in Magallanes, with no cost for the local institutions. We expect to implement this system to develop part of these initial Karukinka paths. Results / Lessons learnt (both positive and negative) WCS is in the initial stages of implementation of the Public Use Plan. The main lesson learned so far is that Chile offers diverse resources (human and economic) that should be included in the development of the project in order to increase the probability of success. Economical and financial viability We expect to develop a financial model to analyze the viability of the Public Use Plan for Karukinka, but initial assessments on cost/benefits indicate that the Plan would be sustainable after five years of the first investment in infrastructure. Replication possibilities There may not be many opportunities for partnership for conservation and sustainable use of such a large tract of land. However, with corporate support, the project may be replicated.