Pura Aventura hosts Kristine Tompkins for the European launch of Chile's Route of Parks
On September 24th, 2019, Pura Aventura was honoured to welcome leading conservationist Kristine Tompkins, President of Tompkins Conservation and UN Patron of Protected Areas, to London for the European launch of Patagonia's Route of Parks - the world's most ambitious conservation project.
Kristine joined Joe Crowley, BBC journalist and presenter, to discuss the 25 years of work and determination behind this incredible project, which transformed strategically important, environmentally vulnerable land throughout Patagonia into parklands, restoring ecosystems and reinstating wildlife corridors.
Now home to 91% of the acreage of protected lands in Chile, the Route of Parks has become a worldwide model for conservation. This scenic 2,800-kilometre conservation route of 17 national parks spans from Puerto Montt in the Lake District all the way down to mythical Cape Horn. Home to over 60 communities and 24 different ecosystems, this natural masterpiece will now be permanently protected for the benefit of all: wildlife, locals and visitors alike.
The event also welcomed David Gallagher, the Ambassador of Chile to the UK, and John Benjamin, the former Ambassador of Chile, plus conservation leaders around the world.
This is the film from the evening...
What is the Route of Parks?
The Route of Parks is a celebration of Chilean Patagonia in all its unspoilt glory, protected and preserved through conservation as a consequence of tourism.
From the herds of guanaco grazing the open grasslands, to the predatory pumas which follow in their wake, and from the slow-growing ancient alerce trees, to the woodpeckers, hummingbirds and hued hueds which live in the cool rainforests, Patagonia is a wilder place thanks to the world’s most ambitious conservation project.
While the numbers are impressive and the scale mind-boggling, at its heart, this great feat is the culmination of 25 years of dedication on the part of pioneering conservationists Kristine and Douglas Tompkins, to take ecologically critical land from absentee landowners, restore its ecosystems and give it all in perpetuity to the people of Chile as protected parkland.
Despite fierce opposition along the way, their efforts came to fruition with the largest private land donation to a government in history. Together with federal land, they created five new national parks and expanded three others, forming the centrepieces of the Route of Parks.
