Tierra Austral Staff Honored to Give A Guest Lecture on the Derecho Real de Conservación

Also in July, two members of Tierra Austral’s staff, Mariana Ayala and Amanda Alfonso, who are both Land Conservation Specialists, were guest lecturers at the class taught by Professor Javier Simonetti at the Universidad Catolica. [Is this the right school?] Together, Amanda and Mariana shared their expertise on the Derecho Real de Conservación (DRC) private lands conservation agreement with the class of about 25 students.

The talk was divided into four sections. First, Amanda and Mariana covered the current regulations in Chile, the origins of the DRC, and how this tool is advancing private lands conservation in the country. Next, they delved into the contents of this type of each DRC contract: its structure, description of the conservation values being protected, and the land uses that are permitted and prohibited on a case-by-case basis in each DRC. They also talked about how DRCs are true collaborations between the conservation landowner and Tierra Austral. This section sparked great interest among the students!

The third section included case studies of the Cerro Poqui Sanctuary and the La Giganta Park DRCs. Lastly, in the fourth section, Amanda and Mariana talked about the need for best practices in DRCs, and about some of the challenges that they and Tierra Austral face in negotiating and completing these agreements. They also touched on Tierra Austral’s collaboration with the Así Conserva Chile NGO on an important and widely distributed publication describing best standards and practices for DRCs and private lands conservation.

We thank Professor Simonetti for inviting us to speak to his class, and the students for their interest in and questions about Tierra Austral’s work to protect Chile’s natural heritage.