In Patagonia, an exotic natural region of southern Chile, efforts to begin reforestation are commencing.
In 2011, a fire destroyed 19 square miles of lush forestation in Torres del Paine National Park in the Patagonian region. The area was declared a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1978. However, in the past 100 years, fires coupled with human influence have destroyed more than 900 square miles of forest.
The Image Foundation of Chile (FiCh), Chile’s secretary of tourism, Conaf – the government agency that manages Chile’s forests, SNP Patagonia Sur, and others intend to plant more than one million trees within this year. The nonprofit project, named “Reforestamos Patagonia,” is being largely funded by companies such as Coca Cola, LAN, Rockford, Falabella and Cuprum.
SNP Patagonia Sur, a for-profit company that invests in, protects, and enhances scenically remarkable and ecologically valuable properties in Chilean Patagonia. has been credited in the past for its strong ties with the reforestation movement in Chile. Planting more than half a million trees in the Austral zone of Chile, it has influenced the area to become an icon of environmental and ecological success across South America.
Reforestamos Patagonia urges the support of citizens and people across the world. According to Matías Rivera, head of the project, “Reforestamos Patagonia is a sincere nonprofit and positive campaign. Its success will be determined by our capacity to urge social networks and mass media to sensitize society to the cause and encourage individuals to buy a native tree replacing those that have been lost.”
As mentioned by Rivera, to assist in the effort to reforest the Patagonia region, trees are for sale. The public can purchase a tree (for the price of $4.00 USD) and contribute to the cause here.
Photo: Northward View of Cuernos del Paine (The Horns of Paine), Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. Evelyn Proimos CC BY 2.0.
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