The southern Chilean coastline is dotted with archaeological sites that tell the history of the Kawésqar people. Photo Credit: Pablo Sanhueza/Reuters
Environment ChileVast Patagonian Wilderness Gains Permanent Protection
Chile is set to create a new national park protecting nearly 200,000 hectares of remote coastline and forest, completing a 2,800 km wildlife corridor to the southern tip of the Americas.
“This is one of the few truly wild forest and peak territories left in the country, and it deserves to be preserved for all time,” said Kristine Tompkins, conservationist and founder of Tompkins Conservation.
The Cape Froward park will safeguard fragile subantarctic forests, carbon-storing sphagnum bogs covering 10,000 hectares, and habitats for endangered huemul deer, river otters and wild pumas. Once formalised, it will become Chile’s 47th national park and the 17th created or expanded through long-term public–private conservation efforts, securing one of Patagonia’s most biodiverse landscapes for future generations.
