Consortium of public and private organizations present ecological restoration and water security strategies

With the presence of authorities and various organizations, a meeting was held this Wednesday, January 7th, in the Valdivian Coastal Reserve, marking a milestone in advancing to close the financing gap and strengthen governance that allows us to face the challenges of climate change.

An ancient, temperate rainforest rising from the coast in the Valdivian Coastal Reserve, located in the Chaihuín sector, was the meeting place for representatives of conservation organizations, environmental finance professionals, and authorities to announce several key milestones in watershed restoration. Among them were the Regional Governor of Los Ríos, Luis Cuvertino, and Jennifer Morris, global leader (CEO) of The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

In relation to the restoration strategy, the “Milestone of declaration of alliance in public-private consortium” was carried out to support the Regional Water Board in the development of the Regional Fund for Remuneration for Ecosystem Services for restoration , a pioneering and pilot initiative to be scaled up in Chile.

“The formation of this public-private consortium marks a decisive step for the Los Ríos Region. Under the leadership of the Regional Government and within the framework of the Regional Water Board, we are moving forward with the creation of a Regional Environmental Financing Fund that will ensure permanent resources for watershed restoration, native forest management, and nature-based solutions,” explained the Regional Governor of Los Ríos, Luis Cuvertino.

“Our region has a clear roadmap for water security, but until now it faced a key gap: the lack of a stable financial mechanism. This consortium will close that gap, bringing together the public and private sectors and specialized organizations. Investing in restoration is not an expense; it is a responsible decision that strengthens territorial resilience and the well-being of future generations,” added Governor Cuvertino.

This regional fund - a pioneer in Chile and a pilot project to be scaled up - is promoted by the Ministry of the Environment, the Regional Government of Los Ríos, the GEF Project Incentives for Biodiversity Conservation, INFOR, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Chile, Fondo Naturaleza Chile - Chile Nature Fund, WWF Chile and FORECOS. It is conceived as a permanent financial mechanism, with public-private governance, capable of mobilizing long-term public and private resources to implement nature-based solutions in priority basins and ensure water in quantity and quality for communities.

“It is super important for us as an organization that this experience can be known and scaled up for the country,” said Francisco Torres, resilient landscapes leader at TNC Chile.

“The goal is for this fund to scale up to other regions of Chile, as a key instrument for water security, now a national priority, under the new Law 21.600,” added Juan José Donoso, executive director of TNC Chile.

“At Fondo Naturaleza Chile, we are very pleased to have achieved this milestone and to reaffirm our commitment as part of this powerful public-private consortium to promote a fund that will give sustainability to the restoration strategy and water security of the Los Ríos Region,” said Tomás Saratscheff, Conservation Director of Fondo Naturaleza Chile.

The declaration was made at a landmark location for effective conservation, a territory where, 20 years ago, FORECOS and TNC initiated the first scientific studies in Chile demonstrating the link between native forest restoration in headwaters and water recovery. This evidence led to successful payments for ecosystem services programs in Mashue and Liquiñe, which the fund now seeks to replicate and scale regionally, within the framework of the economic instruments for biodiversity conservation established by Law 21600, which created the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service (SBAP).

On Remuneration for Ecosystem Services

Also called Ecosystem Benefits, depending on the approach, the concept arose from various global initiatives advocating for a better understanding of the value of ecosystems for human well-being, in order to promote conservation and nature stewardship initiatives. In this context, the concept of Ecosystem Services has generated considerable interest in recent years, both in academic research and in environmental public policy. The most important contribution of Ecosystem Services is its proposed link between ecosystem structure and processes, and how this link generates changes in the well-being of the population.

According to NAP Global Network, payments for ecosystem services (PES) are transfers primarily used to regulate services, such as watershed protection, flood control, or coastal defense, or cultural services, such as landscape beauty. Under a PES scheme, payments in cash or other resources are made by those who benefit from ecosystem services, such as downstream water consumers, cities, and hydroelectric companies, to ecosystem service providers, such as farmers' land trusts and protected area managers.

About the Valdivian Coastal Reserve: a story of effective conservation.

Twenty-two years ago, the inauguration of the Valdivian Coastal Reserve marked a fundamental step in the conservation of this humid, temperate forest. The land on which the Valdivian Coastal Reserve now stands was acquired in late 2003 at a public auction following the bankruptcy of a forestry company. Since then, and as part of the Reserve's overall strategy, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Chile has managed it by working closely with nearby fishing villages and Indigenous communities to maintain traditional land uses and to encourage conservation-compatible economic development. Working with local partners, TNC Chile has achieved several conservation successes across the more than 50,000 hectares protected by the Valdivian Coastal Reserve.

Photographs courtesy of TNC Chile and Gore Los Ríos.