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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?location=chile&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/chile/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Mon, 31 Aug 2026 05:08:39 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>Chile environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/chile/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Decades after bottom trawling, Chilean seamounts remain degraded</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/decades-after-bottom-trawling-chilean-seamounts-remain-degraded/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/decades-after-bottom-trawling-chilean-seamounts-remain-degraded/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Aug 2026 17:07:06 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/07142747/e.-BANNER-%C2%A9-Marcelo-Andres-Rojas-Gonzalez-original-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325552</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Fisheries, Fishing, Oceans, and Overfishing]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The scars of bottom trawling are still visible on seamounts in Chile&#8217;s Juan Fernández Archipelago, even 25 years after the fishing practice took place in the area, according to a new study. In 2024, scientists from Chile and the U.S. used remotely operated vehicles aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute&#8217;s research vessel R/V Falkor to survey [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The scars of bottom trawling are still visible on seamounts in Chile&#8217;s Juan Fernández Archipelago, even 25 years after the fishing practice took place in the area, according to a new study. In 2024, scientists from Chile and the U.S. used remotely operated vehicles aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute&#8217;s research vessel R/V Falkor to survey four seamounts, underwater mountains that rise up from the seafloor, off Chile&#8217;s coast. Three of the seamounts are located in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, a cluster of volcanic islands that has one of the highest known rates of marine endemism on the planet. An estimated 62% of the reef fish species of Juan Fernández and the neighboring Desventuradas Islands are found nowhere else in the world. Other unique endemic species include the Juan Fernández fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii) and the Juan Fernández rock lobster (Jasus frontalis).  The fourth study site was the Solito Seamount, located north of the Juan Fernández Archipelago and known to harbor similar marine communities. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, fishers conducted bottom trawling on the Juan Fernández seamounts, dragging weighted nets across the seafloor to catch orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) and alfonsino (Beryx decadactylus), long-living, deep-sea fish. After catches dwindled, these fisheries collapsed and the trawling stopped. Later, in 2015, Chile permanently banned bottom trawling on all of its seamounts. At Solito, by contrast, the study, published in July in Deep Sea Research, found no evidence that bottom trawling had ever occurred. Twenty-five years after bottom trawling had taken&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/decades-after-bottom-trawling-chilean-seamounts-remain-degraded/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/decades-after-bottom-trawling-chilean-seamounts-remain-degraded/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325552</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Can ‘fog harvesting’ help solve water scarcity in Chile’s Atacama Desert?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-fog-harvesting-help-solve-water-scarcity-in-chiles-atacama-desert/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-fog-harvesting-help-solve-water-scarcity-in-chiles-atacama-desert/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jul 2026 20:09:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/17195707/AP275353435726-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323860</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation Technology, Deserts, Environment, Natural Resources, Technology, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Chile’s Atacama Desert is one of the driest places in the world. Some areas only see rainfall a few times in a century, while others have never recorded rainfall at all. In many rural communities there, local governments have to truck in water from other parts of the country or extract it from deep underground [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Chile’s Atacama Desert is one of the driest places in the world. Some areas only see rainfall a few times in a century, while others have never recorded rainfall at all. In many rural communities there, local governments have to truck in water from other parts of the country or extract it from deep underground wells. But in harder-to-reach settlements, these solutions still aren’t cost-effective or reliable. To address the problem, residents and researchers have looked for more innovative methods of getting water out of the environment. Some have begun using the fog that often blankets northern Chile. Off the Pacific coast, cold air currents cool into low cloud cover that blows inland, getting stopped by coastal mountains and settling at ground level. With the right approach, groups have found ways to “capture,” or “harvest,” the fog, turning it into useable freshwater. “In a very simple way, we have to understand that clouds are made up of water droplets,” Camilo del Río, director of the Catholic University’s Atacama Desert Center in Chile, told Mongabay. “They’re already formed, they’re already condensed. So whenever a cloud is transported by wind and comes into contact with the Earth’s surface, what is touching the surface is thousands and thousands of liters [of water].” Local groups have found ways to harvest enough fog to supplement drinking water and bolster agricultural projects. But many challenges with the strategy still remain. Researchers want to harvest the fog more efficiently and at scale, one day convincing local officials&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/can-fog-harvesting-help-solve-water-scarcity-in-chiles-atacama-desert/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323860</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How narcos moved 108 tons of timber infused with drugs from Bolivia to Chile</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-narcos-moved-108-tons-of-timber-infused-with-drugs-from-bolivia-to-chile/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-narcos-moved-108-tons-of-timber-infused-with-drugs-from-bolivia-to-chile/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jul 2026 13:30:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Iván Paredes Tamayo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/10131149/Chile-run-anti-drug-operation-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323075</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Bolivia, Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Crime, Drug Trade, Environment, Forest Products, Forestry, Governance, Illegal Trade, Law, Timber, timber trade, Trade, trafficking, and Tropical hardwoods]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[New risks to South American forests emerge as trees becomes a key element in drug trafficking.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new case has exposed the connection between drug trafficking webs and the export of timber from the Amazon and other regions of Bolivia. After Chile announced in June the largest drug seizure — 108 tons of cocaine and ketamine — in its history, authorities confirmed the substances were detected impregnated in Bolivian wood planks. This is not the first time shipments of the so-called “narco-timber” have been caught: The illicit practice dates back at least 20 years, using the same recurring routes. Mongabay accessed prosecutorial sources in both Chile and Bolivia, two Andean nations in South America sharing a land border of 861 kilometers (535 miles). According to investigations in Chile, 32 shipments were made from Bolivia by 15 timber companies, mostly in 2026. In financial terms, the total amount of drugs moved through this system had a value exceeding $8.3 billion in international markets, according to the breakdown. “It is a six-month investigation developed by the Prosecutor&#8217;s Office of Arica [a northern Commune], the Maritime Police, and the National Customs Service of Chile, which culminated in the detection of 45 contaminated containers [with drugs] in the ports of Arica, Valparaíso, and San Antonio,” the Prosecutor&#8217;s Office of Arica and Parinacota stated in a report. Cocaine and ketamine impregnated in timber were detected in Arica, northern Chile. Image courtesy of the National Customs Service of Chile. The timber shipments departed from Bolivia, mainly from the departments of Pando, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Beni and La Paz. The cargoes had ports&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-narcos-moved-108-tons-of-timber-infused-with-drugs-from-bolivia-to-chile/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-narcos-moved-108-tons-of-timber-infused-with-drugs-from-bolivia-to-chile/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323075</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Telling one guiña from another: It’s all about the angle</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/telling-one-guina-from-another-its-all-about-the-angle/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/telling-one-guina-from-another-its-all-about-the-angle/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jun 2026 11:30:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/29111809/Image_1-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321977</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Argentina, Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Camera Trapping, Cats, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Monitoring, Research, Small Cats, Species, Surveying, Threatened species, Tracking, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Guiña are small-forest-dwelling felids found in Chile and Argentina that are distinguished only by small, subtle black dots, making it difficult to tell one cat from another. A change in camera trap angle could open the door to a better understanding of their populations, with important conservation implications, a recent study says. Normally, researchers place camera [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Guiña are small-forest-dwelling felids found in Chile and Argentina that are distinguished only by small, subtle black dots, making it difficult to tell one cat from another. A change in camera trap angle could open the door to a better understanding of their populations, with important conservation implications, a recent study says. Normally, researchers place camera traps at ground level to snap pictures of cats as they walk by. But telling one guiña (Leopardus guigna) from another from that angle proved incredibly challenging. “One of the fundamental questions in ecology is always how many individuals are there or what are the densities,” Nicholas Galvez, an associate professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, told Mongabay in an interview. “Sometimes that sounds like a very easy question, but it&#8217;s actually really difficult to answer in the field, especially with a species so small and cryptic.” To solve that problem, Galvez and his team switched their cameras to point downward, in a “zenith” position, attaching them to tree branches and poles in a temperate forest in Chile&#8217;s Reñihué Valley, in northern Patagonia. That switch enabled the scientists to identify 12 individuals based on their unique markings on their backs. The findings were published in the journal Oryx. Ilaria Agostini, a researcher with Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council, said it’s exciting research. “For the first time, it seems feasible to identify individuals in this very subtly marked cat,” she said in a video interview. When using camera traps for her own&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/telling-one-guina-from-another-its-all-about-the-angle/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/telling-one-guina-from-another-its-all-about-the-angle/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321977</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Six marine sanctuaries recognized as Blue Parks, four of them in Africa</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/six-marine-sanctuaries-recognized-as-blue-parks-four-of-them-in-africa/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/six-marine-sanctuaries-recognized-as-blue-parks-four-of-them-in-africa/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jun 2026 15:39:01 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawahare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Autumn Spanne]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/24123008/Nosy-Tanihely-Aerial-3-Photo-Credits-Tanihely-National-Park-Association-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321762</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Canada, Chile, and Senegal]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Natural Resources, Oceans, Protected Areas, Research, Science, Water, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MOMBASA — At the Our Ocean conference in Mombasa, Kenya, a message echoed across sessions: Effective marine protected areas (MPAs) are critical to safeguarding oceans. The Blue Park Awards, instituted by the U.S.-based Marine Conservation Institute, shine a light on MPAs that are delivering on their promise. This year, six of them made the cut: [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MOMBASA — At the Our Ocean conference in Mombasa, Kenya, a message echoed across sessions: Effective marine protected areas (MPAs) are critical to safeguarding oceans. The Blue Park Awards, instituted by the U.S.-based Marine Conservation Institute, shine a light on MPAs that are delivering on their promise. This year, six of them made the cut: the Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area in Canada; Rapa Nui Marine Protected Area in Chile; Kawawana Indigenous Community Heritage Area in Senegal; and Nosy Hara National Park, Sahamalaza- îles Radama National Park, and Nosy Tanihely (also spelled Tanikely) National Park in Madagascar. The conference held in Mombasa from June 16-18 saw more than 6,000 delegates from governments, nonprofits, the private sector, and other institutions gather to talk ocean conservation. Kawawana ICCA members in Senegal. Image courtesy of the Fishermen Association of the Rural Community of Mangagoulack. Under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted by parties to the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity in 2022, countries agreed to protect 30% of the world’s land, freshwater and marine areas by 2030, in what’s known as the 30×30 target. “This cohort of Blue Parks is a powerful reminder of what the 30×30 goal actually requires,&#8221; Lance Morgan, president of the Marine Conservation Institute, said at the awards announcement in Mombasa on June 16. “These six MPAs, protecting different places in the ocean under different governance models, show that effective marine protection is achievable across cultures, geographies and political systems.” The six sites represent an array of governance models and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/six-marine-sanctuaries-recognized-as-blue-parks-four-of-them-in-africa/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/six-marine-sanctuaries-recognized-as-blue-parks-four-of-them-in-africa/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321762</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Chile’s ancient conifers host underground web of life that sustains forests: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/chiles-ancient-conifers-host-underground-web-of-life-that-sustains-forests-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/chiles-ancient-conifers-host-underground-web-of-life-that-sustains-forests-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2026 10:26:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sofia Moutinho]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/09101258/61_Chile_Fungi_DJI_0270-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317250</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Carbon Sequestration, Conservation, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Forest Carbon, Forest Loss, Forests, Fungi, Logging, Old Growth Forests, Planetary Boundaries, Plants, Protected Areas, Research, Temperate Forests, and Trees]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In an isolated valley within Alerce Costero National Park in southern Chile, one tree towers above all others. At 30 meters (100 feet) high, this alerce abuelo or grandpa alerce, is estimated to be more than 2,400 years old. Its massive trunk and branches are covered in lichens, mosses and even other woody plant species [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In an isolated valley within Alerce Costero National Park in southern Chile, one tree towers above all others. At 30 meters (100 feet) high, this alerce abuelo or grandpa alerce, is estimated to be more than 2,400 years old. Its massive trunk and branches are covered in lichens, mosses and even other woody plant species that take root in the crevices of its bark. But beneath it, hidden underground, lies another hidden treasure: a community of fungi known as arbuscular mycorrhizae. These kinds of fungi establish unique partnerships with plants that are fundamental to keeping forests alive. More than 80% of all terrestrial plants are associated with these fungi, which form underground networks, penetrating roots and creating specialized structures called arbuscules that supply nutrients and water to the plant in exchange for carbon and sugars. Now, for the first time, scientists have sampled and analyzed the fungal community beneath alerce trees (Fitzroya cupressoides) in the Chilean national park, the country’s largest protected area for temperate coastal forests. Their research revealed that the ancient alerce abuelo hosts two and a quarter times more fungal diversity than its smaller, younger counterparts, highlighting the uniqueness of this old tree. “All the diversity you see above in the tree branches also happens belowground,” says lead author Camille Truong, a mycologist with the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and the University of Melbourne in Australia and the study’s lead author. “All these root systems and the soil offer a habitat for thousands of fungi, and also&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/chiles-ancient-conifers-host-underground-web-of-life-that-sustains-forests-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317250</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>China’s Pacific squid fishery rife with labor, fishing abuses: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/chinas-pacific-squid-fishery-rife-with-labor-fishing-abuses-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/chinas-pacific-squid-fishery-rife-with-labor-fishing-abuses-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Mar 2026 15:47:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francesco De Augustinis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/03141824/39-with-seabird-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315118</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Chile, China, East Asia, Ecuador, Global, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Forced labor, Illegal Fishing, Law, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overfishing, Saltwater Fish, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Labor abuses including violence, debt bondage and withheld wages and medical care, overfishing, shark finning, marine mammal killings: A new report exposes bad practices and a weak regulatory framework governing the jumbo flying squid fishery in the Southeast Pacific Ocean. The report was launched on Feb. 19, just days before the annual meeting of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Labor abuses including violence, debt bondage and withheld wages and medical care, overfishing, shark finning, marine mammal killings: A new report exposes bad practices and a weak regulatory framework governing the jumbo flying squid fishery in the Southeast Pacific Ocean. The report was launched on Feb. 19, just days before the annual meeting of the commission of the South Pacific Regional Fishery Management Organisation (SPRFMO), the intergovernmental body that manages the fishery. The report drew on interviews with 81 fishers, mainly Indonesian sailors who worked between 2021 and 2025 on 60 Chinese vessels targeting jumbo flying squid (Dosidicus gigas) in the region. “Our interviews revealed that these vessels are engaged in widespread fisheries abuses and labor abuses,” Dominic Thomson, head of the investigation for U.K.-based NGO the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), told Mongabay. Jumbo flying squid, also known as Humboldt squid, are large-bodied animals averaging 50 to 80 centimeters (20 to 31 inches) in length. They concentrate in the South Pacific Ocean, off the coast of South America, where they play a key mid-trophic role in the marine ecosystem, serving both as a predator of smaller species and as prey for sharks, swordfish, sperm whales, dolphins and other marine life. The species is among the most commercially important squid species, accounting for about 30% of global squid landings. The fishery involves South American countries fishing mainly within their exclusive economic zones (EEZs): Ecuador, Chile and Peru. The latter has for decades been the world&#8217;s leading producer. In the last decade,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/chinas-pacific-squid-fishery-rife-with-labor-fishing-abuses-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/chinas-pacific-squid-fishery-rife-with-labor-fishing-abuses-report/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315118</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous knowledge and science join forces to save the choro mussel in Chile</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/indigenous-knowledge-and-science-join-forces-to-save-the-choro-mussel-in-chile/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/indigenous-knowledge-and-science-join-forces-to-save-the-choro-mussel-in-chile/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Dec 2025 12:18:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Barinia Montoya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/01120346/PORTADA-Integrantes-del-GEF-Pesca-Sustentable-y-gente-local-trabajando-en-terreno-en-caleta-Huellelhue.-Cortesia-Pesca-Sustentable-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310399</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coastal Ecosystems, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Fishing, Indigenous Peoples, Oceans, and Traditional Knowledge]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Huellelhue means “place for swimming” in Mapudungun. It’s also the name of one of the rivers that flow through the Lafken Mapu Lahual Multiple-Use Conservation Area, established in 2005 in southern Chile’s Los Lagos region. The name of this area is more than just a grouping of words, says Eduardo Vargas, president of the Nirehue [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Huellelhue means “place for swimming” in Mapudungun. It’s also the name of one of the rivers that flow through the Lafken Mapu Lahual Multiple-Use Conservation Area, established in 2005 in southern Chile’s Los Lagos region. The name of this area is more than just a grouping of words, says Eduardo Vargas, president of the Nirehue community. “It’s a spiritual geography where the Mapuche Huilliche people have, for generations, woven their connection with the water, forest and life itself,” he says. The Huellelhue River estuary is home to natural beds of the choro mussel (Choromytilus chorus), a large mollusk native to the coasts of Chile and Peru. This filter-feeding species thrives in the estuary’s mix of fresh and brackish waters, where the unique ecological conditions support its reproduction and survival. For the three Indigenous communities that live along its shores — Caleta Huellelhue, Lonko Milef and Nirehue — the choro mussel carries deep cultural and environmental meaning. They recognize it as part of their alimentary heritage and their ancestral connection to the estuary. Yet decades of intensive harvesting by local divers and outsiders alike led to a drastic decline in its population. In response, Indigenous communities called on Chile’s Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (SUBPESCA) in 2018 to adopt urgent measures. The following year, authorities established the first harvesting ban. Thanks to this restriction, the natural mussel beds in the area have grown substantially, heralding the recovery of this emblematic species. Now, conservation strategies are underway that aim not only to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/indigenous-knowledge-and-science-join-forces-to-save-the-choro-mussel-in-chile/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/indigenous-knowledge-and-science-join-forces-to-save-the-choro-mussel-in-chile/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310399</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>What’s at stake for the environment in Chile’s upcoming election?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/whats-at-stake-for-the-environment-in-chiles-upcoming-election/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/whats-at-stake-for-the-environment-in-chiles-upcoming-election/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Nov 2025 18:12:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/13175706/AP23170742560995-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309501</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Copper, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forest Destruction, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Lithium, Mining, Peatlands, Politics, Pollution, and Protected Areas]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Chileans will go to the polls on Nov. 16 to vote for a new president, 23 Senate seats, and all 155 seats in the lower Chamber of Deputies. The elections could be a deciding factor in how the country addresses a number of ongoing environmental issues, including the renewable energy transition, constitutional rights for Indigenous [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Chileans will go to the polls on Nov. 16 to vote for a new president, 23 Senate seats, and all 155 seats in the lower Chamber of Deputies. The elections could be a deciding factor in how the country addresses a number of ongoing environmental issues, including the renewable energy transition, constitutional rights for Indigenous groups, and the development of its mining sector, most notably energy transition minerals like copper and lithium. Chile has protected more than 20% of its land mass and more than 40% of its waters, and last year passed legislation with a special focus on peatlands, a major carbon sink. But it’s still short of meeting its 30&#215;30 targets, part of the Global Biodiversity Framework to protect 30% of land and water by 2030. The country is also dealing with land disputes in southern regions like Araucanía and Biobío, where Indigenous Mapuche groups often reject logging, agribusiness and an ineffective land titling process for ancestral territory. Earlier this year, the Presidential Commission for Peace and Understanding delivered a final report with recommended solutions to the land disputes, but implementation will be up to the next president. The world’s top copper producer and second largest of lithium, Chile is also a major player in the global energy transition. In recent years, numerous mining operations have been accused of abusing freshwater sources and endangering vulnerable species, raising questions about whether the country needs tighter oversight. The current president, Gabriel Boric, the millennial progressive who promised systemic change when elected in 2021,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/whats-at-stake-for-the-environment-in-chiles-upcoming-election/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/whats-at-stake-for-the-environment-in-chiles-upcoming-election/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309501</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Researchers fear Chile copper project may threaten rare Andean cat population</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/researchers-fear-chile-copper-project-may-threaten-rare-andean-cat-population/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/researchers-fear-chile-copper-project-may-threaten-rare-andean-cat-population/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Oct 2025 23:33:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/23102541/Andean-cat-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308206</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cats, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Freshwater, Mining, Protected Areas, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Researchers are raising concerns about the creation of a large-scale open-pit copper-molybdenum mine in Chile’s Valparaíso region, which they say will destroy the habitat of the recently recorded population of Andean cat, an endangered species and one of the rarest felines in the Americas. To protect its habitat, members of the affected Putaendo community and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Researchers are raising concerns about the creation of a large-scale open-pit copper-molybdenum mine in Chile’s Valparaíso region, which they say will destroy the habitat of the recently recorded population of Andean cat, an endangered species and one of the rarest felines in the Americas. To protect its habitat, members of the affected Putaendo community and local organizations want to declare the site a protected area. “This particular area has remained virtually untouched by human intervention for a long time,” Arón Cádiz-Véliz, a biologist at the University of Concepción in Chile, told Mongabay over a video call. “It&#8217;s also home to a high diversity of flora and fauna, many of which are in danger of extinction.” The Vizcachitas project, owned by the Canadian company Los Andes Copper Ltd., is located on a rich copper deposit and has been presented by the company as a solution to help meet the demands of the global energy transition. Government officials and courts have decided that the project is compatible with the presence of the Andean cat; however, conservationists remain concerned and continue to highlight issues in the assessment. The Rocín River forms part of a vital water network that feeds Andean wetlands, lagoons, estuaries and rivers in the upper reaches of the Putaendo River Basin. Image courtesy of Arón Cádiz-Véliz. The Antuco Sector, a natural area in the commune, where the Río Rocín and other rivers, waterfalls and lagoons are found. Image courtesy of Arón Cádiz-Véliz. The project is located in the Andes Mountains,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/researchers-fear-chile-copper-project-may-threaten-rare-andean-cat-population/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/researchers-fear-chile-copper-project-may-threaten-rare-andean-cat-population/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308206</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>IUCN downgrades guiña threat status, prompting conservation warning</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/iucn-downgrades-guina-threat-status-prompting-conservation-warning/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/iucn-downgrades-guina-threat-status-prompting-conservation-warning/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Oct 2025 14:34:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/13084256/79fd8a84-da04-43e0-91f5-7bfc618733c6-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307359</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Animals]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Argentina, Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cats, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Diseases, Ecology, Endangered Species, Environment, Forest Destruction, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Research, Small Cats, Temperate Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The guiña, a small cat species found only in Chile and northern Argentina, has just been reclassified as of least concern by the IUCN. Until recently it was listed as vulnerable to extinction. Normally such a downgrading in threat status would be cause for celebration, but in this case some conservationists are hesitant. “It&#8217;s not [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The guiña, a small cat species found only in Chile and northern Argentina, has just been reclassified as of least concern by the IUCN. Until recently it was listed as vulnerable to extinction. Normally such a downgrading in threat status would be cause for celebration, but in this case some conservationists are hesitant. “It&#8217;s not that the species is doing better, it’s that we have better information,” explains Nicolas Galvez, who led the recent IUCN assessment and is an associate professor at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. This new information, he says, includes a higher population estimate and data showing guiña (Leopardus guigna) can survive not only in their native forest habitat, but in some altered agricultural landscapes. “Because of this better information, the species has been listed to least concern,” he says. In 2014, when the species was last assessed, this information was not available. But Galvez expects this status shift “will raise a lot of eyebrows in the environmental world and feline conservation world.” That’s because guiña continue facing a daunting number of threats in the wild, including human-wildlife conflict, habitat loss, disease contracted from domestic dogs and cats, climate change and, increasingly, severe forest fires in parts of its range. https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/10150443/Image_2_Low.mp4 Camera trap footage of a guiña. It is now considered of least concern across the entire distribution of the species, but three of six subpopulations remain in high danger of extinction. Image courtesy of Nicolás Gálvez Like other small cat species, guiña play an important and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/iucn-downgrades-guina-threat-status-prompting-conservation-warning/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/iucn-downgrades-guina-threat-status-prompting-conservation-warning/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
					<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/10/10150443/Image_2_Low.mp4" length="0" type="video/mp4" />
					<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307359</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>From Chile to Greece, ‘ghost gear’ from fish farms haunts the seas</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/from-chile-to-greece-ghost-gear-from-fish-farms-haunts-the-seas/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/from-chile-to-greece-ghost-gear-from-fish-farms-haunts-the-seas/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Sep 2025 14:17:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Guia Baggi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/24151948/2025-06-23_18-36-45_DEEP_TREKKER-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306405</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Canada, Chile, Europe, Global, Greece, North America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Aquaculture, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Global Environmental Crisis, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Pollution, Saltwater Fish, Waste, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Each year since 2021, Pia Reveco and her husband have set sail from Puerto Montt to spend the Chilean summers navigating Patagonia aboard their sailboat. Last year, they traveled along the fjords and mountains of the Golfo de Penas; three years ago, they reached Laguna San Rafael National Park, where a glacier resembling an ice [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Each year since 2021, Pia Reveco and her husband have set sail from Puerto Montt to spend the Chilean summers navigating Patagonia aboard their sailboat. Last year, they traveled along the fjords and mountains of the Golfo de Penas; three years ago, they reached Laguna San Rafael National Park, where a glacier resembling an ice tongue meets the sea. This summer, they opted instead for a shorter trip to the Guaitecas archipelago, a group of sparse islands in the Aysén region known for its rich biodiversity. During these journeys, they report frequently coming across fish farms, mostly salmoneras, Spanish for salmon farms. On their most recent expedition, which ran from December to March, Reveco posted on X about at least 23 sites that appeared to her abandoned or in bad condition, with corroded, broken or sinking infrastructure and teeming with birds, she told Mongabay. A 2021 study published in the science journal Marine Pollution Bulletin identified mussel and salmon aquaculture as primary sources of floating marine debris in northern Chilean Patagonia, especially buoys and other plastic floating devices. Daniel Caniullán, a fishing vessel owner, shellfish gatherer and Indigenous community leader involved in campaigns against the salmon industry, has often documented buoys, sections of rusting platforms and plastic pipes washing ashore on the pristine beaches of the Guaitecas, where he lives. “We, the Indigenous seafaring fishers of this territory, have seen this type of salmon farming pollution in the area for more than 40 years,” Caniullán texted Mongabay. In such remote&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/from-chile-to-greece-ghost-gear-from-fish-farms-haunts-the-seas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306405</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>An indestructible invasive anemone threatens Chilean Patagonia’s seas</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/an-indestructible-invasive-anemone-threatens-chilean-patagonias-seas/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/an-indestructible-invasive-anemone-threatens-chilean-patagonias-seas/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Sep 2025 10:21:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ana Cristina Alvarado]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/11101614/IMG_0902-rotated-e1747277058671-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305780</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Invasive Species, Marine, Marine Animals, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Diver and artisanal fisherman Daniel Caniullán recalls with frustration the day he went to collect shellfish from a natural bank in northern Chile, only to find hundreds of the plumose anemones covering the seabed. “I found an anemone plague where there used to be locos [edible sea snails]. It is upsetting, because these are places [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Diver and artisanal fisherman Daniel Caniullán recalls with frustration the day he went to collect shellfish from a natural bank in northern Chile, only to find hundreds of the plumose anemones covering the seabed. “I found an anemone plague where there used to be locos [edible sea snails]. It is upsetting, because these are places we protect, where we feel safe,” says the Indigenous leader from the Guaitecas archipelago in northern Chilean Patagonia. This invasive anemone species (Metridium senile), also known as the frilled anemone, is native to the Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. In 2005, a group of researchers, including marine biologist Vreni Häussermann, recorded M. senile for the first time in central Patagonia. In 2011 and 2015, its presence was confirmed in northern and southern Patagonia, respectively. These anemones occupy large areas of the seabed, displacing species such as sponges, bivalves and barnacles. Experts are therefore concerned about the “devastating” impact this species could have on Chile’s marine ecosystems. In addition, there are warnings about the loss of commercially significant resources, such as the locos (Concholepas concholepas), red sea urchin (Loxechinus albus) and the giant barnacle (Austromegabalanus psittacus), on which artisanal fishing communities depend. The laceration of the anemone’s base leads to asexual reproduction. Image courtesy of Vreni Häussermann. Häussermann, a principal investigator at San Sebastian University, explains that the anemone could have arrived in Chile in ballast water, used to stabilize ships when they are partially loaded or under different loading conditions. Upon arrival, the water is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/an-indestructible-invasive-anemone-threatens-chilean-patagonias-seas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/an-indestructible-invasive-anemone-threatens-chilean-patagonias-seas/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305780</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lithium mining leaves severe impacts in Chile, but new methods exist: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/lithium-mining-leaves-severe-impacts-in-chile-but-new-methods-exist-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/lithium-mining-leaves-severe-impacts-in-chile-but-new-methods-exist-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Sep 2025 14:45:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/10123055/AP23111009152246-1-e1757515524265-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305721</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile and Latin America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Critical Minerals, Ecosystems, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Lithium, Mining, Renewable Energy, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new report on the impact of lithium mining in South America’s lithium triangle has found that methods used by companies in the rush to extract the mineral in Chile’s Salar de Atacama has led to an “irreversible” and “unrecoverable” loss of water. Nearby Indigenous Colla peoples, whose land has not yet been exploited, told [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new report on the impact of lithium mining in South America’s lithium triangle has found that methods used by companies in the rush to extract the mineral in Chile’s Salar de Atacama has led to an “irreversible” and “unrecoverable” loss of water. Nearby Indigenous Colla peoples, whose land has not yet been exploited, told Mongabay that without the implementation of more sustainable mining methods, they will likely face the same problems neighboring communities have experienced over the last four decades, such as a loss of vegetation cover and the disappearance of lagoons. Since the 1980s, lithium mining has been conducted in Salar de Atacama, a salt flat in Chile’s Antofagasta region, located within the traditional territory of the Lickanantay (Atacameño) Indigenous peoples. The report was published by the Citizen Observatory of Chile (OC), Argentina’s Center for Legal and Social Studies, the Postgraduate Program in Development Sciences of the Higher University of San Andrés in Bolivia and the International Federation for Human Rights. “The information we gathered in our study shows that the impact of lithium mining on water is enormous,” said José Aylwin, a lawyer, coordinator of the OC Globalization and Human Rights Program and lead author of the report. “It is estimated that the production of 1 ton of lithium carbonate, based on the technology currently used in the Atacama Salt Flat, requires, on average, the evaporation of half a million liters [132,000 gallons] of brine water.” A recent study found that lithium mining in the Salar de&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/lithium-mining-leaves-severe-impacts-in-chile-but-new-methods-exist-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305721</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Green hydrogen development threatens wildlife in Chile</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/green-hydrogen-development-threatens-wildlife-in-chile/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/green-hydrogen-development-threatens-wildlife-in-chile/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2025 09:02:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Manuel Fonseca]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/15171142/53691573799_41b200264f_6k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304393</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Biodiversity, Business, Clean Energy, Conservation, Deserts, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Fellows, Green, Greenwashing, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Politics, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Green hydrogen promoters tout it as the clean energy of the future. In 2020, Chile launched its National Green Hydrogen Strategy, looking to position the country as a leader in producing and exporting hydrogen by 2030 while reaching carbon neutrality. “Today we are taking a new step forward in producing clean energy, protecting nature and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Green hydrogen promoters tout it as the clean energy of the future. In 2020, Chile launched its National Green Hydrogen Strategy, looking to position the country as a leader in producing and exporting hydrogen by 2030 while reaching carbon neutrality. “Today we are taking a new step forward in producing clean energy, protecting nature and fighting climate change,” former President Sebastián Piñera said in 2021 at the moment Chile produced its first molecule of green hydrogen. Green hydrogen is a form of fuel produced using renewable energy sources (e.g., solar, wind) via water electrolysis, a chemical process that uses electricity to break the chemical bonds in water (H2O) and produce oxygen (O2) and hydrogen (H2) gas molecules. The industry sector sees this sort of hydrogen as a valuable tool that can help globally decarbonize or reduce the carbon emissions of mining, metal, chemical and fertilizer production, among others, which do not find another viable way of reducing their emissions. It has earned the nickname the “champagne of energies.” Detractors, however, note that despite being seen as a premium and versatile energy source, green hydrogen is highly expensive and inefficient. Most of the hydrogen produced worldwide is derived from natural gas, creating what is known as grey hydrogen, which releases significant volumes of CO2 into the atmosphere, contributing to the current climate crisis. Another alternative, blue hydrogen, is also produced from natural gas, while capturing CO2 and storing it underground. This can result in leaking high quantities of methane (CH4), a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/green-hydrogen-development-threatens-wildlife-in-chile/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/green-hydrogen-development-threatens-wildlife-in-chile/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-304393</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Locals fear Chile’s new port project for green energy will disrupt ecosystems</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/locals-fear-chiles-new-port-project-for-green-energy-will-disrupt-ecosystems/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/locals-fear-chiles-new-port-project-for-green-energy-will-disrupt-ecosystems/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Jul 2025 14:59:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/11132103/D72B0964-66F5-446D-B86C-48498E13C8B0-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302171</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, Chile, Latin America, Pacific Ocean, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Development, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Fish, Green, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industry, Infrastructure, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Ports, Renewable Energy, Saltwater Fish, Shipping, and Whales]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Chilean government has recently approved a new port project in Magallanes and the Chilean Antarctic Region, an area that recently attracted a lot of attention due to its enormous green energy potential. The port will transport infrastructure to expand green hydrogen, a colorless gas produced without fossil fuels, and allow for faster and more [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Chilean government has recently approved a new port project in Magallanes and the Chilean Antarctic Region, an area that recently attracted a lot of attention due to its enormous green energy potential. The port will transport infrastructure to expand green hydrogen, a colorless gas produced without fossil fuels, and allow for faster and more efficient transport of salmon from the farms in the region, said a government official. Meanwhile, some Indigenous residents and environmental organizations are raising concerns about potential environmental impacts of the port on the region’s marine ecosystems and species, such as humpback whales. In April, the Regional Commission for the Use of Coastal Border (CRUBC in Spanish) unanimously approved the Cabo Negro port project, proposed by the investment company Inversiones PPG SpA, which will be located 28 kilometers (17.3 miles) from the regional capital of Punta Arenas. A company presentation seen by Mongabay said it will include a 400-meter (1,312-foot) dock for loading and unloading supplies and servicing vessels, along with a 2-hectare (5-acre) landfill. The total length of the pier is approximately 1,100 m (3,609 ft) from the beach. Jan Gysling, the project manager for Nortev SpA, a company that is supporting PPG in the development of the project, told Mongabay that, although it has not yet been defined, the total area of the project will most likely be approximately 30 hectares (74 acres) of land and 5 hectares (12.3 acres) of sea. Local officials expect the port to help boost industries producing green hydrogen,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/locals-fear-chiles-new-port-project-for-green-energy-will-disrupt-ecosystems/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/locals-fear-chiles-new-port-project-for-green-energy-will-disrupt-ecosystems/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302171</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Endangered Andean cat is imperiled by climate change and its solutions</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/endangered-andean-cat-is-imperiled-by-climate-change-and-its-solutions/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/endangered-andean-cat-is-imperiled-by-climate-change-and-its-solutions/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jul 2025 14:58:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/10042617/Image_1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302156</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Almost Famous Animals]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Andes, Argentina, Atlantic Forest, Bolivia, Chile, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Camera Trapping, Cats, Climate Change, Conservation, DNA, Endangered Species, Environment, Extreme Weather, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Hunting, Lithium, Mammals, Mining, Monitoring, Mountains, Natural Resources, Research, Small Cats, Species, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Many conservationists dedicated to protecting the endangered Andean cat have never seen one in the wild, with the species known to science by just a few photos until the late 1990s. And it took Juan Reppucci, leader of the Andean Cat Alliance’s In the Field 24/7 program, nine years to spot one of these elusive [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Many conservationists dedicated to protecting the endangered Andean cat have never seen one in the wild, with the species known to science by just a few photos until the late 1990s. And it took Juan Reppucci, leader of the Andean Cat Alliance’s In the Field 24/7 program, nine years to spot one of these elusive cats in its natural habitat. The Andean cat (Leopardus jacobita) is one of South America’s most endangered small cat species, roaming the high Andes of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru. About the size of a domestic cat, it resembles a miniature snow leopard. Thick fur and an elongated tail make it well adapted to the harsh alpine environment it calls home and for chasing its favorite prey — vizcacha, a rabbit-resembling rodent — across rocky landscapes. Reppucci’s sighting happened on a very “weird” day, he recalls. While out looking for a radio collar that had fallen from a Pampas cat (L. colocolo) in Jujuy province, Argentina, the researcher’s dog Monty (an ever-present companion and guide on field trips) got spooked by a herd of llamas and went missing. Juan Reppucci and his dog Monty, who acts as both field trip companion and guide for AGA research teams. “If it&#8217;s dark, I follow the dog because he knows the way,” Reppucci says. Image courtesy of AGA. Reppucci walked for hours searching for both the collar and Monty. Eventually he reached a cliff edge and paused to catch his breath. “I was super tired, because I was&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/endangered-andean-cat-is-imperiled-by-climate-change-and-its-solutions/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/endangered-andean-cat-is-imperiled-by-climate-change-and-its-solutions/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302156</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous divers on Chile’s island restore seabed to protect seafood sources</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/indigenous-divers-on-chiles-island-restore-seabed-to-protect-seafood-sources/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/indigenous-divers-on-chiles-island-restore-seabed-to-protect-seafood-sources/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jun 2025 11:53:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ana Cristina Alvarado]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/24114529/Buzos-Ascension-2025-04-15-at-18.58.04-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=301275</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, and Protected Areas]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Daniel Caniullán has been diving in the cold waters of the Guaitecas Archipelago in northern Patagonia, Chile, for more than 30 years. “Just by looking at the seabed landscape, you can tell what species you are going to find,” he says. Just as it is possible to recognize the loss of a diverse forest on [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Daniel Caniullán has been diving in the cold waters of the Guaitecas Archipelago in northern Patagonia, Chile, for more than 30 years. “Just by looking at the seabed landscape, you can tell what species you are going to find,” he says. Just as it is possible to recognize the loss of a diverse forest on land, Caniullán’s experience underwater allows him to quickly identify damaged areas. To undo the damage, local divers “repair or reorganize the seabed to restore biodiversity and interspecies relationships,” according to a recent paper published in the British Ecological Society. Calm waters at Melinka pier in the Guaitecas archipelago. Image by Daniel Caniullán. “It is a very practical example to understand how knowledge passed down from generation to generation can be used to recover certain areas and face current challenges such as the devastation of the underwater substrate,” says Florencia Diestre, anthropologist and co-author of the paper, with the Austral University of Chile. Caniullán is a lonko, the Mapudungún word for leader, of the Mapuche-Williche-Lafkenche Pu Wapi Indigenous community in the town of Melinka on Ascensión Island. This territory is a 15-hour boat ride from the nearest town and more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) away from Santiago city. But distance was no obstacle in the 1980s when the “loco (Concholepas concholepas) [shellfish] fever” broke out, says Jaime Ojeda, co-author of the study and a marine biologist at Cabo de Hornos International Center at Chile’s University of Magallanes. Nor was it an obstacle to the arrival&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/indigenous-divers-on-chiles-island-restore-seabed-to-protect-seafood-sources/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-301275</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Red tape fouls a coastal community’s fight to protect fjords in Chilean Patagonia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/red-tape-fouls-a-coastal-communitys-fight-to-protect-fjords-in-chilean-patagonia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/red-tape-fouls-a-coastal-communitys-fight-to-protect-fjords-in-chilean-patagonia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jun 2025 09:16:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ana Cristina Alvarado]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/23090736/Huequi2025-03-31-at-07.52.00-1-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=301193</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Indigenous Peoples, Oceans, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In southern Chile’s Huequi Peninsula, residents recently built a fishing pen meant to catch hundreds of fish that feed entire communities. They’d already noticed that fish stocks were declining, and when they rebuilt the pen to revive ancestral fishing practices, they confirmed their ecosystem’s deterioration. Here, in Chilean Patagonia, fishing pens are built with stone [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In southern Chile’s Huequi Peninsula, residents recently built a fishing pen meant to catch hundreds of fish that feed entire communities. They’d already noticed that fish stocks were declining, and when they rebuilt the pen to revive ancestral fishing practices, they confirmed their ecosystem’s deterioration. Here, in Chilean Patagonia, fishing pens are built with stone or wood in areas that are exposed at low tide. When the water rises, fish and other marine species enter these areas, and become trapped inside the pens when the water recedes. “It is not like it used to be,” says Walter Barrientos, a 58-year-old farmer and fisherman. He says that when he was a child, a pen would catch between 50 and 100 Patagonian blennies (Eleginops maclovinus). On lucky days, there would be around 2,000 jack mackerel (Trachurus murphyi). “Now everything has changed, everything is different, because of all the boats, all the motorboats, all the people who have indiscriminately taken the fish,” Barrientos says. Walter Barrientos, with his back to the camera, explaining the reconstructed fishing pen. Image courtesy of Juan Catín. “That is why we need to protect, that is why we need to find ways to repopulate,” says Juan Catín, president of the Buill Indigenous community. In 2019, the community submitted an application for a Marine and Coastal Space for Indigenous Peoples (ECMPO). This would allow the Indigenous community and neighboring towns to protect 66,000 hectares (163,000 acres) of waters in the two fjords of Comau and Reñihué. The ECMPO, although&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/red-tape-fouls-a-coastal-communitys-fight-to-protect-fjords-in-chilean-patagonia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/red-tape-fouls-a-coastal-communitys-fight-to-protect-fjords-in-chilean-patagonia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-301193</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Signs of hope as elephant seals rebound from avian flu in remote Chilean fjord</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/signs-of-hope-as-elephant-seals-rebound-from-avian-flu-in-remote-chilean-fjord/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/signs-of-hope-as-elephant-seals-rebound-from-avian-flu-in-remote-chilean-fjord/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Jun 2025 14:35:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Barinia Montoya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/04142248/Elefante-marino.-Autor-Francisco-Branas-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=300189</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Diseases, Ecosystems, Environment, Health, Mammals, Marine, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Planetary Health, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Year after year, a colony of elephant seals arrives in Jackson Bay, on the islands of Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of Chile, to molt and breed. However, in 2023, an outbreak of avian flu devastated the region, and the colony’s population dropped by half. In 2020, when avian flu caused devastating losses [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Year after year, a colony of elephant seals arrives in Jackson Bay, on the islands of Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of Chile, to molt and breed. However, in 2023, an outbreak of avian flu devastated the region, and the colony’s population dropped by half. In 2020, when avian flu caused devastating losses in seabird colonies in Europe and Southern Africa, experts initially thought the virus’s spread to mammals would be limited to terrestrial carnivores. However, during the outbreak in 2021 and 2022, the virus affected seals and whales in both Europe and North America. In 2023, when the virus arrived on the South American coast, the pathogen showed that it was capable of causing large-scale mortality among marine mammals. The southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) was one of the most heavily impacted species. But good news arrived in April 2025, when researchers found that the elephant seal population in Jackson Bay had doubled to 200 individuals, including 33 pups. “It is great news for the conservation of the species, because Jackson [Bay], by being in inland waters of fjords and canals, may act as a protective barrier against pandemics,” says Cristóbal Arredondo, a veterinarian and terrestrial program coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Chile,. Since 2008, WCS Chile has monitored this colony alongside the environmental department of the Magallanes region, which encompasses Tierra del Fuego. Elephant seals in Jackson Bay. Image courtesy of Francisco Brañas. A refuge from the virus Jackson Bay is home to “the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/signs-of-hope-as-elephant-seals-rebound-from-avian-flu-in-remote-chilean-fjord/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-300189</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Chile draws road map for peace in Mapuche land conflict, but concerns remain</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/chile-draws-road-map-for-peace-in-mapuche-land-conflict-but-concerns-remain/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/chile-draws-road-map-for-peace-in-mapuche-land-conflict-but-concerns-remain/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2025 16:38:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/21163041/Feature-20-768x500.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299430</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, Patagonia, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Forest Loss, Governance, Human Rights, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Law Enforcement, Logging, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A special commission tasked with addressing land disputes and Indigenous rights in Chile delivered a historic final report to the president earlier this month, making a series of recommendations meant to overhaul state policies and calm violent clashes over land rights. The Presidential Commission for Peace and Understanding sent President Gabriel Boric a list of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A special commission tasked with addressing land disputes and Indigenous rights in Chile delivered a historic final report to the president earlier this month, making a series of recommendations meant to overhaul state policies and calm violent clashes over land rights. The Presidential Commission for Peace and Understanding sent President Gabriel Boric a list of 21 policy recommendations for strengthening the rights of Indigenous Mapuche. However, the policies may take years to implement or never come to fruition at all, critics say. “It ultimately lacks the essential elements needed to bring true peace to the southern macro-region,” María José Gatica, an opposition senator, said of the report when it was delivered earlier this month. President Boric ordered the creation of the commission in June 2023 to address violent land disputes in southern Chile, including in the Biobío, Araucanía, Los Ríos and Los Lagos regions, where many Mapuche communities are frustrated by a slow land titling process and an influx of logging. Since the late 1990s, some Mapuche activists have attacked logging trucks and construction projects while calling for the creation of an autonomous Indigenous state, often referred to as “Wallmapu.” In April, armed men burned around 50 vehicles and construction equipment at the Rucalhue hydroelectric plant, one of many energy projects constructed on important rivers passing through Mapuche territory. Activists there told Mongabay the projects disrespect their culture and failed to adequately consult with residents about their concerns before starting construction. Over 22 months, the commission held more than 150&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/chile-draws-road-map-for-peace-in-mapuche-land-conflict-but-concerns-remain/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/chile-draws-road-map-for-peace-in-mapuche-land-conflict-but-concerns-remain/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299430</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New study maps the fishmeal factories that supply the world’s fish farms</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/new-study-maps-the-fishmeal-factories-that-supply-the-worlds-fish-farms/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/new-study-maps-the-fishmeal-factories-that-supply-the-worlds-fish-farms/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2025 21:05:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/15155241/india1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299162</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, China, Indonesia, Mauritania, Norway, and Peru]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Marine, Marine Animals, Nutrition, Oceans, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Fish farms boomed globally in recent decades — more than half the world’s seafood now comes from aquaculture — but it’s not a boom all environmentalists support. One argument that critics of industrial aquaculture make is that the fishmeal and fish oil used to make the feed for popular carnivorous species like salmon is not sustainably [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Fish farms boomed globally in recent decades — more than half the world’s seafood now comes from aquaculture — but it’s not a boom all environmentalists support. One argument that critics of industrial aquaculture make is that the fishmeal and fish oil used to make the feed for popular carnivorous species like salmon is not sustainably or ethically sourced. Yet it’s been hard to have a comprehensive understanding of where the fishmeal and fish oil comes from — until now. In April, scientists published the first-ever open-source map of fishmeal and fish oil factories around the world. The team found 506 factories across some 60 countries, and in most cases were able to identify the companies that own them. The scientists, who were affiliated with the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada and published the paper in the journal Science Advances, also collected critical data on the types of fish many of the factories use and whether the raw material they process is whole fish or fish byproducts. “Understanding where FMFO production occurs is essential for addressing its environmental, social, and economic impacts,” Lauren Shea, who served as lead author of the study while a UBC master’s student, said in a statement, using the common acronym for fishmeal and fish oil. “Knowing that, along with what species are being used and how it affects local environments and economies, can support the development of more transparent and responsible aquaculture practices.” Map shows fishmeal and fish oil factories. Dark blue dots represent factories&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/new-study-maps-the-fishmeal-factories-that-supply-the-worlds-fish-farms/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/new-study-maps-the-fishmeal-factories-that-supply-the-worlds-fish-farms/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299162</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How communities in sacrifice zones suffer environmental injustices in Mexico, Chile, Nigeria and Indonesia (analysis)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/how-communities-in-sacrifice-zones-suffer-environmental-injustices-in-mexico-chile-nigeria-and-indonesia-analysis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/how-communities-in-sacrifice-zones-suffer-environmental-injustices-in-mexico-chile-nigeria-and-indonesia-analysis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2025 20:01:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Angélica ArellanoDaniela Sepulveda]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/09190714/Odimodi-4-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297301</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Global, Indonesia, Mexico, and Nigeria]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Air Pollution, Analysis, Business, Climate Justice, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporate Social Responsibility, Development, Environment, Pollution, Social Justice, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Across continents, “sacrifice zones” resemble wounds carved deep into the fabric of our planet. These are regions where ecosystems and livelihoods have been ravaged by fossil fuel and other industries that promise progress but leave devastation in their wake. These are places where big business and transnational corporations are contaminating the rivers, darkening the skies, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Across continents, “sacrifice zones” resemble wounds carved deep into the fabric of our planet. These are regions where ecosystems and livelihoods have been ravaged by fossil fuel and other industries that promise progress but leave devastation in their wake. These are places where big business and transnational corporations are contaminating the rivers, darkening the skies, and making the soil barren; where the toll of development is paid in human suffering and ecological destruction. What unites these “sacrifice zones” is the shared story of areas where prosperity for the few is built on the suffering of many, and where communities fight to mend the fractures inflicted upon their land, health and dignity. Here are four case studies highlighting the experiences of communities and civil society organizations collaborating with us in the Coalition for Human Rights in Development’s Community Resource Exchange. Protectors of the Tula River. Image via the Coalition for Human Rights in Development. Tula, Mexico In the Tula-Tepeji-Apaxco region, where the Toltec plains once supported rich biodiversity and cultural heritage, the water and air are now saturated with pollution. This devastated landscape was declared both in 1975 and again in 2005 by the U.N. as one of the most polluted places on Earth, marking it as an environmental disaster zone. Since the early 20th century, the arrival of cement plants, refineries, chemical factories, a coal-fired power plant and lime kilns has transformed the region. Backed by all levels of government, these industries have destroyed the area’s ecological balance and ruined&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/how-communities-in-sacrifice-zones-suffer-environmental-injustices-in-mexico-chile-nigeria-and-indonesia-analysis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/how-communities-in-sacrifice-zones-suffer-environmental-injustices-in-mexico-chile-nigeria-and-indonesia-analysis/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297301</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lithium Triangle mining may strain water sources more than expected, study says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/lithium-triangle-mining-may-strain-water-sources-more-than-expected-study-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/lithium-triangle-mining-may-strain-water-sources-more-than-expected-study-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Apr 2025 17:13:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/04160916/Geature-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297105</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Freshwater, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, International Trade, Land Rights, Law, Lithium, Mining, Politics, Renewable Energy, Research, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Global demand for lithium is expected to increase by nearly 500% over the next few decades, as countries invest more in batteries and electric vehicles meant to reduce their carbon footprint. But lithium also brings its own environmental concerns, putting stress on freshwater supplies in the desert areas where the mineral is most common. Measuring [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Global demand for lithium is expected to increase by nearly 500% over the next few decades, as countries invest more in batteries and electric vehicles meant to reduce their carbon footprint. But lithium also brings its own environmental concerns, putting stress on freshwater supplies in the desert areas where the mineral is most common. Measuring water availability for lithium extraction is still unreliable, especially in South America’s high-altitude Lithium Triangle, home to the world’s largest deposits. More accurate models need to be applied there so mining operations don’t use more water than is available, one recent study argued. If mining operators continue with their current water usage, it could exacerbate the region’s scarcity problem and lead to the destruction of ecosystems and a crisis for nearby communities. “The conventional wisdom is overestimating the amount of water by at least an order of magnitude,” said David Boutt, who co-authored the study in Communications Earth and Environment. “We found that all but one of the 28 basins in our study should be classified as ‘critically water scarce,’ even without incorporating current, to say nothing of future, demands on the water supply.” The Lithium Triangle spans more than 414,000 square kilometers (160,000 square miles) across Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, where an arid climate and water-trapping basins have helped form an estimated 98 million tons of lithium deposits. Mining the lithium involves extracting salty brine and storing it in large evaporation ponds where the sun removes the water, leaving behind a solution that is&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/lithium-triangle-mining-may-strain-water-sources-more-than-expected-study-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297105</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New Zealand blocks tighter trawling rules at South Pacific fisheries meeting</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/new-zealand-blocks-tighter-trawling-rules-at-south-pacific-fisheries-meeting/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/new-zealand-blocks-tighter-trawling-rules-at-south-pacific-fisheries-meeting/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Feb 2025 19:47:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/28182806/3-scaled-e1740769359663-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295156</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Ecuador, New Zealand, and Pacific Ocean]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Environmental Law, Fisheries, Governance, Marine Conservation, Oceans, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Aotearoa New Zealand spent years spearheading the introduction of a new set of rules governing bottom trawling in the South Pacific Ocean, which more than a dozen countries adopted by consensus in 2023. But under a new government, the country has now blocked an effort to fully implement those rules. Australia and the United States [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Aotearoa New Zealand spent years spearheading the introduction of a new set of rules governing bottom trawling in the South Pacific Ocean, which more than a dozen countries adopted by consensus in 2023. But under a new government, the country has now blocked an effort to fully implement those rules. Australia and the United States put forward a proposal to fully enact the 2023 rules at the annual meeting of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), held Feb. 17-21 in Santiago, Chile. This would protect a minimum of 70% of species or groups of species that indicate the presence of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs). In so doing it would reduce the area open to trawling, a fishing practice that disrupts the seabed, by about 45%. However, the two countries deferred the measure to next year “with reluctance” due to the resistance from New Zealand, the only country whose vessels have bottom trawled in the SPRFMO’s regulatory area in recent years. Conservationists lambasted New Zealand’s move to block the measure. “While other SPRFMO members reaffirmed their strong support for the implementation of agreed measures to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems, New Zealand took a position that defies science, weakens our confidence in the implementation of international commitments, and leaves some of the planet’s most fragile and biodiverse marine ecosystems at risk,” Bronwen Golder, director of the deep-sea fisheries seamounts campaign at the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC), an umbrella group of NGOs, said in a statement. In other news from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/new-zealand-blocks-tighter-trawling-rules-at-south-pacific-fisheries-meeting/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295156</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>After LA, fire crisis reaches Latin America — from Mexico to Argentina</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/after-la-fire-crisis-reaches-latin-america-from-mexico-to-argentina/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/after-la-fire-crisis-reaches-latin-america-from-mexico-to-argentina/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Feb 2025 12:57:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Astrid Arellano]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/17123814/Incendios-en-Epuyen-%C2%A9-Matias-Garay-Greenpeace-07-scaled-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294537</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Latin America, Mexico, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fires, Forests, Global Warming, and Temperatures]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As Los Angeles faced unprecedented fires razing entire neighborhoods in late January, Latin America was not spared either. In Argentinian Patagonia, fires have destroyed more than 10,100 hectares (24,958 acres) since summer began in the Southern Hemisphere. These fires affected Nahuel Huapi National Park, among other areas. In Chile, the forest fires so far in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As Los Angeles faced unprecedented fires razing entire neighborhoods in late January, Latin America was not spared either. In Argentinian Patagonia, fires have destroyed more than 10,100 hectares (24,958 acres) since summer began in the Southern Hemisphere. These fires affected Nahuel Huapi National Park, among other areas. In Chile, the forest fires so far in 2025 have killed three firefighters. In less than a month, the fires in Los Angeles, since they began Jan. 7, destroyed 18,000 homes and structures and killed at least 29 people. Those were not the first large-scale wildfires to occur in this region of the U.S. What set them apart, though, was the fact that they switched from forest fires to urban fires. A similar event occurred in Chile in 2024. In 2024, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Argentina were affected by fires that scorched forests and victimized people, even prompting some of these governments to declare national disasters. Two fires are active in the southern part of Nahuel Huapi National Park, in the strict reserve area near Los Manzanos Lake, Nahuel Huapi National Park, Patagonia, Argentina. Image courtesy of Nahuel Huapi National Park. How prepared is the region to face fires in 2025? Current events represent a major warning that must not be ignored. This serves as a special alert for Latin American governments, which have often limited capacity, to work toward preventing fires, allocating sufficient resources to fire management strategies and taking timely action against forest fires. The effects of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/after-la-fire-crisis-reaches-latin-america-from-mexico-to-argentina/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-294537</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Photos: Top new species from 2024</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2024/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2024/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Dec 2024 22:47:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/01222118/Image-1-Leopardus-tigrinus-pardinoides-Cuenca-3-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=292398</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Asia, Atlantic Forest, Australia, Cameroon, Central America, Chile, China, Global, India, Indonesia, Latin America, Malaysia, Mekong Basin, Pacific Ocean, Peru, South America, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Botany, Charismatic Animals, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Cryptic Species, Culture, Deforestation, DNA, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Flowers, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Insects, Islands, Lizards, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, New Discovery, Oceans, Oil Drilling, Plants, Rainforests, Reptiles, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Snakes, Solutions, Species Discovery, Traditional Knowledge, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A giant anaconda, a vampire hedgehog, a dwarf squirrel, and a tiger cat were among the new species named by science in 2024. Found from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to the mountaintops of Southeast Asia, each new species shows us that even our well-known world contains unexplored chambers of life. This year, in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A giant anaconda, a vampire hedgehog, a dwarf squirrel, and a tiger cat were among the new species named by science in 2024. Found from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to the mountaintops of Southeast Asia, each new species shows us that even our well-known world contains unexplored chambers of life. This year, in Peru&#8217;s Alto Mayo Landscape alone, scientists uncovered 27 new-to-science species, including four new mammals, during a two month expedition. Meanwhile, the Greater Mekong region yielded 234 new species, and scientists from the California Academy of Sciences described 138 new species globally. The ocean depths continued to surprise, with more than 100 potentially new species found on an unexplored underwater mountain off Chile&#8217;s coast. Two new mammal species were found in India this year, including the world’s smallest otter. Scientists estimate only a small fraction of Earth&#8217;s species have been documented, perhaps 20% at best. Even among mammals, the best-known group of animals, researchers think we’ve only found 80% of species.  Most of these hidden species are likely bats, rodents, shrews, moles and hedgehogs. Members of Indigenous Awajun communities in Peru&#8217;s Alto Mayo assist scientists with their research, such as throwing cast nets to capture fish.  68 fish species were collected, including eight that are new to science. Photo courtesy of Trond Larsen/Conservation International. However, while species may be new to Western science, many have been well known to Indigenous peoples and local communities for generations. These communities often maintain sophisticated classification systems and deep ecological&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2024/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-292398</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As lithium mining bleeds Atacama salt flat dry, Indigenous communities hit back</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/as-lithium-mining-bleeds-atacama-salt-flat-dry-indigenous-communities-hit-back/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/as-lithium-mining-bleeds-atacama-salt-flat-dry-indigenous-communities-hit-back/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Dec 2024 10:44:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Barinia Montoya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/20103653/Laguna-Puilar-es-parte-del-sistema-hidrologico-de-Soncor.-Este-ultimo-es-sitio-Ramsar-y-ademas-forma-parte-de-la-Reserva-Nacional-Los-Framencos.-Autor-UMA-CPA-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=292106</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Corporate Social Responsibility, Ecosystems, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Lithium, Mining, Research, Water, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[You could be forgiven for thinking there’s no water in the Atacama Desert. In fact, the driest desert on Earth has underground springs that feed the Chaxa, Cejar and Tebenquiche lagoons, as well as other bodies of water, providing oases for various animals such as flamingos and extremophiles. It’s said that the ancestors of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[You could be forgiven for thinking there’s no water in the Atacama Desert. In fact, the driest desert on Earth has underground springs that feed the Chaxa, Cejar and Tebenquiche lagoons, as well as other bodies of water, providing oases for various animals such as flamingos and extremophiles. It’s said that the ancestors of the Indigenous Lickanantay people practiced agriculture here without damaging the fragile ecosystem, using only the water deposited in irrigation channels, in a method known by locals as “sowing water.” The Lickanantay have built a unique cosmovision around the water cycle or Puri in the Kunza language. “They know how to live with its scarcity, tame it and even sometimes fear it,” says Oriana Mora, an Indigenous Atacameño, in a study she carried out while at the University of Seville in Spain. It’s no coincidence that one of their most important ceremonies, the Talatur, consists of cleaning out the canals so that the water can flow freely, she says. However, the Lickanantay are not the only ones interested in the natural resources of the Atacama Desert: the lithium industry is too. The two mining companies operating in the region extract more than 63 billion liters (17 billion gallons) of brine per year from deep beneath the desert, a rate of nearly 2,000 liters per second, or 525 gallons per second. The industry also consumes a significant amount of freshwater. Indigenous defender Sonia Ramos Chocobar. Image courtesy of Sonia Ramos Chocobar. This prompted researchers at the University of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/as-lithium-mining-bleeds-atacama-salt-flat-dry-indigenous-communities-hit-back/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-292106</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Chile, discovery of shallowest red hydrocoral forest yet surprises scientists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/in-chile-discovery-of-shallowest-red-hydrocoral-forest-yet-surprises-scientists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/in-chile-discovery-of-shallowest-red-hydrocoral-forest-yet-surprises-scientists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Dec 2024 11:48:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rocío González Trujillo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/12/05113430/pablo-zavala-expedicion-marina-magallanes-ii-PZB_0604-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=291249</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Coral Reefs, Ecosystems, Environment, Marine, Marine Conservation, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The first thing the researchers noticed from their boat were red spots below the surface of the water during one of their expeditions. This detail led them to carry out a sampling in the Kawésqar National Reserve, a marine protected area in Chile’s extreme south. At 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) depth, they found a large [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[The first thing the researchers noticed from their boat were red spots below the surface of the water during one of their expeditions. This detail led them to carry out a sampling in the Kawésqar National Reserve, a marine protected area in Chile’s extreme south. At 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) depth, they found a large number of red hydrocorals, which are colonial marine animals that resemble, but are distinct from, the more familiar reef-building corals. The discovery attracted their attention because, until then, this species, Errina antarctica, had never been recorded in areas so shallow, much less at such southern latitudes. However, the discovery wasn’t made by chance. The researchers, from the Chilean non-profit Fundación Rewilding Chile and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, had spent several months analyzing previous marine investigations done between Puerto Montt and Cape Horn to detect gaps in the record. “We checked the entire terrestrial mapping, as well as maps from the SHOA [Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy], which includes the depths and descriptions of banks of certain species,” said Ingrid Espinoza León, director of conservation with Fundación Rewilding Chile and co-author of a paper describing the discovery published in April in the journal Scientific Reports. The researchers’ goal was to identify the most unexplored areas and to determine which locations were of greatest interest to explore. To achieve this, they interviewed local residents familiar with the territory. The discovery wasn’t made by chance. The researchers had spent months analyzing previous marine research&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/in-chile-discovery-of-shallowest-red-hydrocoral-forest-yet-surprises-scientists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-291249</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Chilean Indigenous association participates in key study for lawsuit against mining</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/chilean-indigenous-association-participates-in-key-study-for-lawsuit-against-mining/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/chilean-indigenous-association-participates-in-key-study-for-lawsuit-against-mining/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Oct 2024 16:10:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Barinia Montoya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/28130209/Monitoring-carried-out-by-the-Environmental-Unit-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=289217</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Industry, Law, Mining, Pollution, Protected Areas, Research, Water, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The town of San Pedro de Atacama in northern Chile’s Antofagasta region is surrounded by natural wonders such as volcanoes, colorful lagoons, geysers, salt flats, gigantic dunes and rock formations. Its main road, Caracoles, is visited by tourists worldwide who travel on foot or by bicycle, with their faces covered with scarves to protect themselves [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[The town of San Pedro de Atacama in northern Chile’s Antofagasta region is surrounded by natural wonders such as volcanoes, colorful lagoons, geysers, salt flats, gigantic dunes and rock formations. Its main road, Caracoles, is visited by tourists worldwide who travel on foot or by bicycle, with their faces covered with scarves to protect themselves from the high plateau’s strong, sand-blowing winds. Less than 500 meters (1,600 feet) away, in an adobe house, is the office of the Council of Atacameño Peoples, an Indigenous association that represents 18 communities of the Lickanantay people, which means “the inhabitants of the territory” in the local language. The Council of Atacameño Peoples (CPA) was created to preserve the territories of the Atacama communities and ensure the well-being of the people who live there. The council thus found it necessary to inspect the impacts of mining activity that occur in the area, also home to fragile ecosystems and endangered species. To do so properly, the CPA created an Environmental Unit in 2017 made up of Atacama professionals, such as hydrogeologists, engineers and environmental monitors, who are from the territory&#8217;s communities. The Atacama salt flat. Image courtesy of the Council of Atacameño Peoples. This is a unique model in Latin America that, according to Francisco Mondaca, environmental engineer and coordinator of the Environmental Unit, primarily seeks to ensure the protection and monitoring of community ecosystems while respecting the culture of Indigenous communities. As a result of the Environmental Unit’s recognized work, it was invited to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/chilean-indigenous-association-participates-in-key-study-for-lawsuit-against-mining/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-289217</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Debate over Chile’s fisheries law exposes industry influence on fish management</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/debate-over-chiles-fisheries-law-exposes-industry-influence-on-fish-management/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/debate-over-chiles-fisheries-law-exposes-industry-influence-on-fish-management/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Oct 2024 08:58:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francisco Velásquez]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/25085256/subpesca-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=289198</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Chile is in the process of drafting a new fisheries law after President Gabriel Boric’s government presented a bill proposing the law for legislative consideration at the end of 2023. The proposed law primarily aims to restore confidence in regulations governing the fishing industry, as the current fisheries law was passed against the backdrop of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Chile is in the process of drafting a new fisheries law after President Gabriel Boric’s government presented a bill proposing the law for legislative consideration at the end of 2023. The proposed law primarily aims to restore confidence in regulations governing the fishing industry, as the current fisheries law was passed against the backdrop of one of the biggest political corruption scandals in the country’s history. The new law should be “based on ethical standards that do not call its legitimacy into question,” the undersecretariat of fisheries stated on its website. However, debate over the new bill has been rumbling on in Congress since January, and there are signs that, once again, the private sector’s possible influence on congressional discussion should be closely monitored. An investigation released by the Santiago-based Center for Journalistic Investigation (CIPER) in June revealed that 76% of the legislative recommendations made by three congressmen, more than 200 recommendations in all, were taken from a report by Chile’s National Fishing Society (SONAPESCA), the fishing industry’s umbrella organization. The congressmen are Sergio Bobadilla, Cristhian Moreira and Bernardo Berger from the right-wing Independent Democratic Union and National Renewal party. Congressmen Sergio Bobadilla, left, Cristhian Moreira, center, and Bernardo Berger, right. Images courtesy of cnn.cl. To learn about the environmental implications of the congressmen’s proposals, Mongabay Latam spoke with scientists, fisheries experts and representatives of environmental organizations. Of all the recommendations, one was particularly concerning to the experts: The removal of the new bill’s Article 19, which proposes to curb&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/debate-over-chiles-fisheries-law-exposes-industry-influence-on-fish-management/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-289198</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fishers &#038; scientists unite to restore seaweed populations on Chilean coast</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/fishers-scientists-unite-to-restore-seaweed-populations-on-chilean-coast/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/fishers-scientists-unite-to-restore-seaweed-populations-on-chilean-coast/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Oct 2024 10:31:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Barinia Montoya]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/18102704/WhatsApp-Image-2024-08-06-at-09.45.06-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=288981</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Chile, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Citizen Science, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, and Plants]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At the age of 15, Elvio Lagos took his first steps toward becoming a shellfish diver. He began helping his father catch conger eels and shellfish in Caleta Horcón, a cove in central Chile not far from the copper-centered industrial area of Quintero-Puchuncaví, dubbed as one of the country’s so-called &#8220;sacrifice zones” due to high [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[At the age of 15, Elvio Lagos took his first steps toward becoming a shellfish diver. He began helping his father catch conger eels and shellfish in Caleta Horcón, a cove in central Chile not far from the copper-centered industrial area of Quintero-Puchuncaví, dubbed as one of the country’s so-called &#8220;sacrifice zones” due to high pollution levels. At 18, Lagos decided to become a fisher. This profession ensured he made enough money to contribute to home expenses, because &#8220;at that time, we could fish 150 kilograms [330 pounds] of limpets, snails, piure [Pyura chilensis, a sea creature that resembles a rock with red flesh inside] and sole,&#8221; the now-56-year-old told Mongabay Latam. Back then, the sea was so abundant that he and his companions could get around 600 clams to eat on their way home. &#8220;The sea was full of catch and there was seaweed everywhere,&#8221; he said. But things are different today. “It&#8217;s sad to see how the seascape has changed. There’s no seaweed anymore.” To confront this new reality and restore the area, a group of scientists, led by Loretto Contreras, a professor of biological sciences at Chile’s Andrés Bello National University, is working with the fishers of Caleta Horcón. The aim of the project is to collaboratively create a seaweed management strategy to repopulate the seabed with giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) and Chilean kelp (Lessonia spicata) — two species that are key to the ecosystem’s health. Despite significant challenges, there have been some encouraging signs: The first&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/fishers-scientists-unite-to-restore-seaweed-populations-on-chilean-coast/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-288981</doi>				</item>
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