'An unprecedented act of preservation'

Chile has established five new national parks and expanded three others, protecting vast swathes of Patagonia’s rainforests, grasslands and other wild terrains.

The move was made possible after US philanthropist Kristine McDivitt Tompkins donated over one million acres of private land to Chile, signing a decree with the country’s then president Michelle Bachelet in March 2017.

This is the largest donation of private land to a government ever seen, creating a network of national parks spanning 10.3 million acres in what has been described as an unprecedented act of preservation.

National parks in Chile will increase by 38.5% as a result of this initiative, and account for 81.1% of the country’s protected areas, with Bachelet urging other nations to follow Chile’s example.

“Chile is still a developing country, with a large history of development and resource exploitation — in most cases, overexploitation,” she said. “If Chile can take this gigantic environmental measure, there are few reasons why developed nations cannot act as well.”

Image credit: Tompkins