Regional System of Protected Areas for Sustainable Conservation and Use of Valdivian Temperate Rainforest

Chile’s natural isolation and topographic diversity result in very high levels of species diversity - some 28,450 native species are known - and one of the highest levels of endemism in the Latin America and Caribbean region. Serious government commitment to biodiversity conservation has resulted in an impressive National System of State Wilderness Protected areas, including 31 national parks, 15 national monuments, and 48 national reserves which cover more than 14 million hectares. In addition, 300 private protected areas cover another 1.1 million hectares. Despite these efforts, many critical biodiversity areas remain unprotected. One of these is the Valdivian Rainforest Eco-Region, the world’s second largest temperate rainforest recognized for its outstanding globally significant biodiversity by among others, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the World Bank, and Bird Life International. This project will both bring a representative sample of the Valdivian Rainforest Eco-Region under protection, and help Chile commence the extension and decentralization of the national system of protected areas by developing and establishing a regional system of protected areas mainstreamed within the regional development planning framework in the Valdivian ecoregion. In addition, the project will address institutional, policy, regulatory, operational, and management weaknesses in the national system so that, in addition to launching a new wave of decentralized regional protected area systems, the overall national framework for protected areas is strengthened. The long-term national goal of the full GEF project is: an effective and representative National System of conservation and sustainable use protected areas is in place and supports national and regional development goals. The purpose of the project is: an effective, multi-stakeholder, multi-use Regional Protected Areas System (RPAS) is modeled in the Valdivian Region.