Protected Areas in Chile
The natural heritage of Chile is protected by the National System of State Protected Areas (SNASPE) and managed by the National Forest Authority (Corporación Nacional Forestal, CONAF).
At the moment, the System consists of 100 protected areas, including 36 National Parks, 49 National Reserves, and 15 National Monuments, covering about 14.5 million hectares, that is the 20% of the national territory.
Categories of Protected Areas
National Parks: rather large areas characterized by different unique environments or by environments that well represent the natural biological diversity of the Country, areas in which the latter has not been altered by human activity in a significant manner; in these areas, environments can self-perpetuate and flora, fauna, and geological formations are of particular educational, scientific, or recreational interest.
National Parks aim at the conservation of natural environments and cultural and landscape aspects linked to them, at the continuity of evolution processes and at the organization of compatible educational, research, and recreational activities.
National Reserves: areas characterized by natural resources to preserve and use with particular care, given their susceptibility to deterioration or their importance for the well-being of the community.
They aim at preserving and protecting the soil resource and the endangered flora and wildlife species, maintaining and improving water production, and implementing technologies for a rational exploitation of such resources.
Natural Monuments: areas with a reduced surface, characterized by the presence of native flora and wildlife species and by geological sites that are important as far as landscape, culture, or science are concerned.
They aim at preserving the natural, cultural, and landscape aspects and at developing compatible educational, recreational, or research activities.
Source: Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF)
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