February 1, 2011, Puerto Williams, Chile — A delegation of officials from the
French student and Omora Park volunteer Florent Mazel demonstrates to Intendenta Intendenta Kusanovic, Dr. Christopher Anderson and Assistant Secretary Fernando |
Chilean Ministry of Foreign Relations visited Puerto Williams, capital of the Chilean Antarctic Province and the world’s southernmost town, on January 31, 2010 as part of a national initiative to re-evaluate and strengthen ties in research, logistical support and tourism between the Magallanes and Chilean Antarctic Region and the “white continent.”
Led by Dr. Jose Retamales, Director of the Chilean Antarctic Institute, the delegation of ambassadors, authorities, scientists and tourism entrepreneurs included Assistant Secretary of Foreign Relations, Fernando Schmidt, Regional Intendenta, Liliana Kusanovic, and Governor of the Chilean Antarctic Province, Nelson Carcamo.
Mr. Schmidt, Chilean consul in the mid 1980’s in the city of Ushuaia (part of the Argentine portion of Tierra del Fuego), was pleased to note the numerous changes that have transformed the area since his appointment 25 years ago, including the construction of the new Martin Gusinde Anthropological Museum and the creation of the Omora Ethnobotanical Park.
At the Omora Park’s new Cape Horn Field Station, the delegation met with Dr. Christopher Anderson, coordinator of the Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation Program (SABCP) and its affiliated research cluster. Anderson discussed the importance of the investment made by the Millennium Scientific Initiative (Ministry of Economy) and the Basal Financing Program (CONICYT) to achieve the landmark construction, support made possible not only by major national programs but by the institutional alliance of the SABCP, including the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, the Universidad de Magallanes and the University of North Texas, among other partners.
The group discussed the next phase for the research, education and conservation agenda for the sub-Antarctic archipelago and its links with Antarctica through the building of a Cape Horn Research Center. This project has already received the support of renowned architects, including the firms involved in creating the Torre Gran Costanera in Santiago, what will be South America’s tallest building, as well as the Clinton Library in the United States. In the short-term, it is expected to develop the design of this project in 2011 and begin construction in 2012 with the support of the regional government, national, and international partners.
Afterwards the group toured the Omora Park and appreciated Cape Horn’s unique biodiversity as well as the new trail infrastructure made possible through the INNOVA-CORFO project entitled “Ecotourism with a Hand Lens.” Researchers and students from Chile, Spain, Argentina and France demonstrated the important link between academia and society being developed in the park; a group of Spanish lichenologists from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid who operate long-term research projects in Antarctica explained that Cape Horn is like the canary in the coal mine regarding global change; what happens in terms of global warming happens at Cape Horn first, even before Antarctica. For that reason, these scientists work in the high-Andean sites of the Omora Park as well as the Antarctic Peninsula.
Authorities and students working with the regional invasive species control program, coordinated by the Chilean Agriculture and Livestock Service, demonstrated how scientists from the Omora Park interact with decision makers to implement practical policies such as the control of mink and beaver in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve.
A group of graduate students conversed with Governor Carcamo about the importance of the continuous education program led by the Park. The program integrates science and sustainability issues of the Magellanic sub-Antarctic ecoregion into educational activities and brings together world-leading scientists with teachers and graduate students from the region and other universities and also engages teachers and students from the local schools.
Intendenta Kusanovic indicated that it is “extremely important for the Ministry of Foreign Relations to be here because Antarctic policy depends upon them; policy is very linked with our region. We should grow as a gateway to Antarctica, especially Puerto Williams, and particularly we need to development appropriate infrastructure. Thanks to the interest of the Assistant Secretary, we are going to advance in this area.”
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The Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation Program and its affiliated Sub-Antarctic Ecosystems and Biocultural Conservation research cluster are dedicated to the integration of ecological sciences and environmental ethics for biocultural conservation. The Program was formally created in 2009 as a binational initiative between the University of North Texas and the Universidad de Magallanes in association with the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity. The SABCP consolidates multiple ongoing activities based at the Omora Ethnobotanical Park, founded in 2000 in the Cape Horn archipelago. Recognition of the program includes the 2008 Science and Practice of Ecology and Society Award and 2nd Prize in the 2010 Raanan Weitz International Competition in Innovation in Sustainable Development. For more than a decade, the scientists, artists, musicians, philosophers and students of the Omora Park have made this a leading program for biocultural conservation in the sub-Antarctic ecoregion, but with broader relevance to the world. For more information visit: www.chile.unt.edu; www.osara.org/journal
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Contact:
Dr. Christopher Anderson: christopher.anderson@unt.edu, Coordinator, SABCP
For photos en jpg: paula.p.caballero@gmail.com