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Around seventy people gathered at the First National Meeting of Managers of the Network of Biosphere Reserves of Chile, held from 8 to 10 January at the Araucarias Biosphere Reserve, located in the La Araucanía region (Chile). The event was organised by Chile’s National Forest Corporation (CONAF) and UNESCO.

Under the theme “Biosphere Reserves, creating community for our common future”, the meeting aimed to reinforce the participation of local territories in the search for new governance models for Chile's ten Biosphere Reserves. This is in line with State management and the guidelines of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, taking into account critical issues for the development of the Reserves, such as the impact of the climate crisis, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

Currently, the ten Biosphere Reserves in Chile cover a total of 17.2 million hectares across nine regions. From a biogeographical perspective, this system encompasses 15.1% of the national territory. From a human perspective, the reserves are home to nine of the eleven Indigenous peoples recognised by Chilean law and over a thousand residents, mostly from rural areas, who directly and indirectly rely on the ecosystem services provided by these territories.

Claudia Uribe, UNESCO’s director in Chile, stressed that “it is of utmost importance to strengthen the working networks, exchange, and collaboration between the people and organisations managing the various Biosphere Reserves in Chile, to advance the protection of ecosystems that are currently at risk. There is no doubt that in order to preserve biodiversity and tackle climate change, we must promote a better relationship between people and their environment and recover and highlight local knowledge.”

Chile has been identified as one of the countries that will be most affected by climate change. It meets seven of the nine vulnerability criteria outlined by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and is among the 30 countries in the world with the highest levels of water stress. Chile is the only Latin American nation expected to face extremely high water stress by the year 2040.

In this context, CONAF has committed to making the National Committee of Biosphere Reserves a reality and promoting the creation of a National Youth Network for Biosphere Reserves by 2024, with the aim of ensuring a sustainable future for Chile.

Renzo Galgani, Manager of Protected Wild Areas at CONAF, stated that “the Government of President Gabriel Boric has made a commitment to the Chilean Network of Biosphere Reserves, which involves working together to strengthen the local development of these reserves through local reflection, community gatherings, and support for local productive ventures, ensuring that they are sustainable and generate long-term benefits for the people living in these areas.”

In this regard, María Rosa Cárdenas, associate specialist of UNESCO’s MAB programme, thanked CONAF for its commitment, noting that “it is bringing together different stakeholders to create a participatory working platform, with the idea that Biosphere Reserves will become inclusive territories with a forward-looking vision, also preparing new generations to take advantage of the opportunities in sustainable development.”

Biosphere Reserve managers shared successful experiences and challenges, assessing their progress in relation to the Lima Plan 2016–2025 and the IberoMaB Network Action Plan 2018–2025, focusing on governance, diversity and the environment, communication, and funding.

They also made progress in designing guidelines for the creation of the National MAB Committee and reached preliminary agreements to establish a National Youth Network. These discussions were based on the reflective foundations set by the Second IberoMaB Network Congress, held in 2023 in Copán, Honduras, and shaped by the vision of the territories involved.

Andrea Bahamondes, head of Protected Wild Areas at CONAF Aysén, noted, “This is a tremendous challenge for the country, and particularly for Aysén, which has five million hectares of Biosphere Reserves, with Laguna San Rafael as the core area. Therefore, significant public-private collaboration is required for management and conservation efforts.”

Similarly, Pablo Manríquez, mayor of Juan Fernández, stated that his community “lives off the conservation of our terrestrial and marine spaces, so we must continue to strengthen the sustainable development of the biosphere reserve, which currently covers 1.7 million hectares, including the national park, decommissioned areas, and the marine area.”

Young participant Macarena Molina from Curacautín expressed, “Each territory has different issues that need to be addressed alongside the local community, considering the perspective of young people. First, we need to understand what Biosphere Reserves are, and from there, contribute to their development and future.”

The Biosphere Reserve model also presents an opportunity to strengthen regional participation, considering that regional governors are mandated to chair the management committees responsible for the effective functioning of the country's Biosphere Reserves. This is in line with the framework provided by Law 21,600, which establishes the National System of Protected Areas (SNAP) and the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service (SBAP), as well as Law 21,074 on Strengthening the Regionalisation of the Country.

In this context, Luciano Rivas, regional governor of Araucanía, highlighted that they are "fully committed to enhancing this issue through three key pillars: the conservation of natural, cultural, and social heritage, alongside productive development and research, in collaboration with other organisations. This is achieved through joint work with citizens, also taking into account the decentralisation process, meaning how we make environmental decisions to become a greener and more sustainable region."

This view was shared by Pablo San Martín, representative of the Regional Government of Ñuble, who pointed out that "regional governments are involved in a decentralisation process for the country, and therefore, we have growing responsibilities in terms of budget use and territorial planning. From that perspective, working innovatively around Biosphere Reserves is a significant challenge for us."