Concessions: Marine Conservation in Chile

Location

Chile, South America

Description

This case study was presented in June 2008 at the workshop, A Private Sector Approach – Conservation Agreements in Support of Marine Protection. The information below is a short abstract of the case study. A complete case study will be posted on the toolkit prior to October 2008.

Pioneer studies of human impacts on coastal marine communities in Chile provided the scientific basis on which to establish novel resource management strategies for exploited wild populations. The studies, however, were not used to develop a comprehensive marine conservation plan that included no-take areas. While not comprehensively applied, several legal tools exist to protect the ocean, including natural sanctuaries, marine reserves, marine parks, national monuments, and management and exploitation areas for benthic resources. These instruments may be applied in coastal marine protected areas. Surprisingly, most of the existing marine protected areas in Chile are sponsored and administered by private organizations. This presentation will identify the past, present, and potential future role of private marine conservation efforts in Chile including recent collaborations with fishermen to implement private marine protected areas.

Contact Information

Miriam Fernandez, PhD, Adjunct Professor
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Santiago Tel: (56-2) 354-1626
Las Cruces Tel: (56-35) 431574
E-mail: mfernandez@bio.puc.cl

See Also

Fernandez, M. and J. Carlos Castilla. 2005. Marine Conservation in Chile: Historical Perspective, Lessons and Challenges. Conservation Biology, 1752-1762.