Land
Conservation
Through the use of legal tools available in Chile, such as the Derecho Real de Conservación (DRC), Fundación Tierra Austral works with private landowners so that they take voluntary decisions, acting to protect their properties.
Derecho Real
de Conservación
The Derecho Real de Conservación (DRC) is a legal tool that aims to promote the participation of the private sector in the conservation of Chile's environmental heritage. Through this law, enacted in 2016, private landowners can legally formalize their willingness to conserve the ecological and/or cultural value of their land.
Voluntary and Flexible Agreement
A DRC agreement is a voluntary and flexible contract signed between a landowner and a third party who will act as the holder of the agreement. Through the DRC, the property remains belonging to the landowner while being permanently protected.
Conservation Legacy
A DRC agreement is tied to the property, so that, in case the protected area changes ownership, the conditions established in the agreement are maintained. In this way the will for conservation is a legacy and therefore legally protected in the long term.
Regulated Use of the Land
A DRC agreement establishes certain conditions that regulate the use of the land with the objective of safeguarding the conservation of the area’s environmental heritage of in the long-term.
Legally Binding
Once signed by both parties, the DRC agreement is registered at the respective Real Estate Registry.
DRC Holder
The role of the DRC Holder- or Guarantor- is to guarantee that the conservation of the protected property’s environmental values is being effectively carried out.
Range of Actors
A DRC makes the involvement, if desired, of a variety of actors in the conservation of a property, creating new forms of participation, cooperation, and regulation, which was previously legally inconceivable.
Fundación Tierra Austral collaborates with landowners in the design and implementation of projects under robust and effective Derecho Real de Conservación agreements, including the possibility to act as a legal counterpart or title holder.
Steps of the Process
Ecological Profile
Identification of the conservation attributes of the area to be protected, its condition, and possible threats, through the analysis of relevant literature and field visits. This is aimed at defining the socio-environmental value of the area to be protected.
Zoning Proposal and Drafting of the Conservation Easement (DRC) Contract
Definition of zones within the area to be protected according to their current or potential uses. These zones are associated with internal use regulations based on the conservation intentions of the owner. Once the zoning proposal is accepted, the conditions governing the DRC agreement are established by mutual agreement.
Finalization and Registration of the DRC Contract
Verification of the titles of ownership or property of the land. Once this process is completed, the DRC agreement is signed and registered with the respective Land Registry Office.
Monitoring and Implementation of the DRC
Field verification of the status of the conservation values identified in the ecological characterization of the area. Additionally, when necessary, Fundación Tierra Austral develops Management Plans to strengthen the sustainability of conservation projects.
Follow-up on the DRC Agreement
Maintaining open communication with the owner to provide support as needed to ensure compliance with the DRC agreement.
Conservation
Standards
Fundación Tierra Austral alongside Así Conserva Chile created a set of conservation standards for private lands conservation for the country to ensure that the proper practice and implementation of the del Derecho Real de Conservación (DRC).
This project was carried out within the framework of funding for Strategic Public Goods for Competitiveness from CORFO. The development of standards is expected to guide conservation efforts toward greater effectiveness and support the growth of ecosystem services markets.
Standards for Privately Protected Properties
Standards for Conservation Grantee Organizations (CGO) or Land Trusts.
Standards for the Use of the Derecho Real de Conservación in Chile.
Based on these standards, Fundación Tierra Austral promotes three key aspects to ensure the creation of effective Derecho Real de Conservación (DRC) agreements:
01.
Conservation Purpose
A DRC agreement must have a clear objective and purpose focused on preserving environmental attributes.
02.
Character
of the Holder
The counterpart in a DRC agreement must be a nonprofit organization with no conflicts of interest, ensuring compliance with the conditions and regulations established in the contract.
03.
Duration of
the Agreement
DRC agreements must align with the temporal scale of natural processes. To achieve this, the contractual conditions regulating land use must be established in perpetuity.
Consultancy
Fundación Tierra Austral provides technical expertise to the landowners interested in conserving their property, advising them about the ecological, scenic, and cultural value of their lands.
Our objective is to support them in the planning, design or implementation of conservation projects or their management plans. This includes financial sustainability and the mitigation of long-term threats.
Collective Work
We recognize that conservation, despite perhaps emerging from particular initiatives, tends to have a larger impact when collectively approached.
For this reason, Fundación Tierra Austral actively participates in the creation of collaborative initiatives between the different areas of conservation we work in, generating intersectional conversations that promote articulate and effective management.
Coalition for the conservation of the Mediterranean Ecosystem
A private conservation governance initiative comprised of 14 privately protected areas under Derecho Real de Conservación (DRC) agreements with which Tierra Austral Foundation works, in addition to other stakeholders with knowledge and experience in land conservation.
Workshops and trainings
Systematic training activities that Fundación Tierra Austral conducts with public and private stakeholders aimed at strengthening both the design and implementation of their conservation initiatives.
Educative initiatives
Educational instances aimed at bringing existing conservation initiatives closer, along with their relevance and urgency, through art.
See illustrations
National and international presentations
Participation in national and international seminars that promote private conservation, public-private collaboration for effective conservation, and the relevance of the Derecho Real de Conservación as a conservation tool.
Public Participation
We consider it essential that private conservation to directly link with public initiatives, positioning itself as a strategic actor both in the debate on current institutional frameworks and in the development of public policies on environmental issues.
Institutional Dialogue
Participation in public debate forums to discuss topics such as current institutional and regulatory frameworks regarding private conservation.
Strategic Consulting
Development of projects that contribute to strengthening public policies on environmental matters.