Land
tierras
Through the use of legal tools available in Chile, such as the Derecho Real de Conservación (DRC), Fundación Tierra Austral works with private landowners so that they take voluntary decisions, acting to protect their properties.
Derecho Real
de Conservación
The Derecho Real de Conservación (DRC) is a legal tool that aims to promote the participation of the private sector in the conservation of Chile's environmental heritage. Through this law, enacted in 2016, private landowners can legally formalize their willingness to conserve the ecological and/or cultural value of their land.
Voluntary and Flexible Agreement
A DRC agreement is a voluntary and flexible contract signed between a landowner and a third party who will act as the holder of the agreement. Through the DRC, the property remains belonging to the landowner while being permanently protected.
Conservation Legacy
A DRC agreement is tied to the property, so that, in case the protected area changes ownership, the conditions established in the agreement are maintained. In this way the will for conservation is a legacy and therefore legally protected in the long term.
Regulated Use of the Land
A DRC agreement establishes certain conditions that regulate the use of the land with the objective of safeguarding the conservation of the area’s environmental heritage of in the long-term.
Legally Binding
Once signed by both parties, the DRC agreement is registered at the respective Real Estate Registry.
DRC Holder
The role of the DRC Holder- or Guarantor- is to guarantee that the conservation of the protected property’s environmental values is being effectively carried out.
Range of Actors
A DRC makes the involvement, if desired, of a variety of actors in the conservation of a property, creating new forms of participation, cooperation, and regulation, which was previously legally inconceivable.
Fundación Tierra Austral collaborates with landowners in the design and implementation of projects under robust and effective Derecho Real de Conservación agreements, including the possibility to act as a legal counterpart or title holder.
Steps of the Process
Ecological Profile
Encuentros/ilustraciones: instancias de carácter educativo que buscan acercar las iniciativas de conservación existentes, así como su relevancia y urgencia, mediante el arte.
Zoning Proposal and Drafting of the Conservation Easement (DRC) Contract
Encuentros/ilustraciones: instancias de carácter educativo que buscan acercar las iniciativas de conservación existentes, así como su relevancia y urgencia, mediante el arte.
Finalization and Registration of the DRC Contract
Encuentros/ilustraciones: instancias de carácter educativo que buscan acercar las iniciativas de conservación existentes, así como su relevancia y urgencia, mediante el arte.
Monitoring and Implementation of the DRC
Encuentros/ilustraciones: instancias de carácter educativo que buscan acercar las iniciativas de conservación existentes, así como su relevancia y urgencia, mediante el arte.
Follow-up on the DRC Agreement
Encuentros/ilustraciones: instancias de carácter educativo que buscan acercar las iniciativas de conservación existentes, así como su relevancia y urgencia, mediante el arte.
Conservation
Standards
Fundación Tierra Austral alongside Así Conserva Chile created a set of conservation standards for private lands conservation for the country to ensure that the proper practice and implementation of the del Derecho Real de Conservación (DRC).
This project was carried out within the framework of funding for Strategic Public Goods for Competitiveness from CORFO. The development of standards is expected to guide conservation efforts toward greater effectiveness and support the growth of ecosystem services markets.
Standards for Privately Protected Properties
Standards for Conservation Grantee Organizations (CGO) or Land Trusts.
Standards for the Use of the Derecho Real de Conservación in Chile.
Based on these standards, Fundación Tierra Austral promotes three key aspects to ensure the creation of effective Derecho Real de Conservación (DRC) agreements:
01.
Conservation Purpose
A DRC agreement must have a clear objective and purpose focused on preserving environmental attributes.
02.
Character
of the Holder
The counterpart in a DRC agreement must be a nonprofit organization with no conflicts of interest, ensuring compliance with the conditions and regulations established in the contract.
03.
Duration of
the Agreement
DRC agreements must align with the temporal scale of natural processes. To achieve this, the contractual conditions regulating land use must be established in perpetuity.