Building on the global guidelines for PPAs and the Green List of protected areas standard proposed by IUCN, at the beginning of 2019, ASÍ Conserva Chile embarked on the challenge of proposing guidelines to guide and unify conservation practices in the context of private governance in Chile. This is how a set of three standards was developed on the management of three key entities for conservation: areas under private protection (PPAs), conservation guarantor organisations (CGOs) and the use of the right to real conservation (RRC) in a PPA.
In any field or discipline, it is very important to have standards, since they make it possible to compare the real functioning of an entity with a desired framework through a series of ideal parameters. In order for these parameters to be representative of those who will use them, during the elaboration of the standards a great effort was made to develop a participatory process in which more than 100 people and organizations linked to conservation were present, through workshops and collaborations.
This project was implemented by ASÍ Conserva Chile, with the Tierra Austral Foundation as co-implementer, and after two years of review of international experiences, participatory workshops and adjustments, the results and the publication of the standards can be found at www.estandaresparaconservar.cl.
First, a standard is proposed for areas under private protection (PPAs), which are those sites or properties managed by individuals, whether people or private organisations, and that are voluntarily dedicated to long-term conservation. PPAs are the foundational pillar of this set of standards, as they are the places where nature conservation happens, for which 5 principles, 15 criteria and 51 indicators are proposed.
Second, a standard is set for conservation guarantor organisations (CGOs), defined as non-profit organisations formally engaged in conservation, and that through legally binding agreements with owners can contribute to conservation. This scheme stems from a tradition that began in the United States with the establishment of conservation land trusts, replicated in several other countries. For Chile, we propose that organisations begin to operate under this model, through 7 principles, 17 criteria and 51 indicators.
The third pillar of this set is a standard for the use of a right to real conservation (RRC) in a PPA, which can legally bind the protected area with a CGO to guarantee its long-term conservation. The RRC is a very flexible instrument, governed by private law, which comes to realize a paradigmatic shift in the way conservation is achieved, allowing an assessment of the environmental heritage between two or more individuals with a view to facilitating its protection. One of the ways in which the RRC can be used, and which promotes this latter standard, is the materialization of the will to preserve a PPA in the long term, recommending the participation of a CGO as custodian of this agreement with the owner.
The existence of these standards undoubtedly constitutes an important milestone in the development of conservation in Chile, with the long-term vision of achieving concrete ways to certify the standards, along with proposing updated versions that will adapt to the changing reality of the country.
This initiative was funded by Innova CORFO through the Strategic Public Goods for Competitiveness project 18BPE-93801 “Establishing standards for private conservation initiatives and the use of the right to real conservation in Chile”, and supported by the Ministry of the Environment as the main client.
ASÍ Conserva Chile is an NGO that brings together various conservation initiatives in private and indigenous areas of Chile, with the common objective of conserving natural ecosystems and a vision of integrating both cultural and social heritage. Its work is based on exchanging experiences and visions around conservation, training on issues of interest and achieving greater recognition of voluntary conservation in Chile.
About the Authors
Constanza Pinochet-Cobos is a biologist and conservationist, specialised in issues related to areas under private and community protection. Through her experience, she has developed both projects that seek to solve issues that are common to these areas, as well as field experiences on conservation and restoration of biodiversity.
Guillermo Sapaj-Aguilera is a conservationist specialised in private and community governance conservation. His experience focuses on conservation work with transhumant pastoralist communities in the Aconcagua Valley of central Chile, and on supporting and managing the areas under private protection that are part of ASÍ Conserva Chile.
