Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve

On June 28th, 2005 UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Program announced its approval of the nomination to designate the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve.  This four year initiative, led by Omora, has culminated in this honor, which recognizes that the area has achieved a sustainable and equitable plan for using and conserving its natural resources.  The process has involved numerous people and institutions to accumulate the knowledge of the area, including biological, cultural, historical and social, and then create a consensual politico-administrative process to ensure proper implementation of this knowledge for equitable benefits to all local residents.  We thank all those who have labored in this process and believed in the outcome. To learn about the chronology of this initiative, read more here or see comments from around the world to this news here. 

 

 

Like Mount Everest, the islands to the south of Tierra Del Fuego represent one of the most important biogeographical frontiers of the planet. They possess the southernmost forests that exist in the world, which harbor numerous native plants and animals. Due to its importance, the following organizations are acting together to develop the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve Initiative:

 

Corporación Nacional Forestal - www.conaf.cl

Comisión Nacional de Medio Ambiente - www.conama.cl

Ministerio de Bienes Nacionales – www.bienes.gob.cl

Gobernación de la Provincia Antártica Chilena – www.interior.gov.cl

Ilustre Municipalidad de Cabo de Hornos – www.municipalidadcabodehornos.cl

Universidad de Magallanes - www.umag.cl

Fundación Omora - www.omora.org

 

 

What is a Biosphere Reserve?

 

A biosphere reserve as defined by UNESCO, a United Nations organization, is an area of great natural, cultural and/or historical importance. Classifying an area as a biosphere reserve is an excellent way of land use planning, which promotes sustainable development and conveys international prestige upon the area whilst seeking and integrating collaboration with the local population. UNESCO’s thematic and regional networks of biosphere reserves facilitates the study of the workings of eco-systems and how best to responsibly manage the natural resources of the area.

 

There are currently around 450 biosphere reserves throughout the world, among them the Galapagos Archipelago, the Brazilian Mata Atlantica and large parts of the  tropical rainforest in Costa Rica. They are special areas where economic and social development of a high quality is promoted through the intelligent use of natural resources.

 

Every biosphere reserve is divided into three zones:

 

1. Core Zone: is an area of wilderness, which has a higher a particular biodiversity and is therefore of global interest. In the core zone scientific, conservational and educational activities predominate.

 

2. Buffer Zone: is designed to shelter the Core Zone from outside influences. The main activities in this area are investigation and experimentation involving native species, ecotourism, recreation, education and traditional fishing all of which are compatible with  conservation.

 

3. Transition Zone: is the outermost area in a Biosphere Reserve in which human settlements are located and where activities take place which are exemplary in their sustainable use of natural resources.

 

 

Why should Cape Horn be a Biosphere Reserve?

 

Just like Mt. Everest, the islands south of Tierra Del Fuego, including the Cape Horn islands, are one of the planet’s biological and geographical landmarks. They are in large parts covered in unfragmented sub-Antarctic forest and are some of the few remaining areas in the world still to a large extent unimpacted by human settlement.

 

Designating the Cape Horn islands a Biosphere Reserve is a step which will demonstrate and reinforce the commitment made by the government (in the Strategy for the Development of the Magallanes Region 2001-2010) to promote sustainable development.

 

It would allow, among other things:

  1. The promotion of a high class of ecotourism.
  2. The integrated planning of the area.
  3. The inclusion of scientific investigation into the management of natural resources.
  4. The implementation of measures for biological and cultural conservation.
  5. The safeguarding of traditional fishing.
  6. The inclusion of the community in the development of ecotourism.

 

Development of ecotourism of the highest level

 

The Galapagos Islands (Ecuador), Torres Del Paine National Park (Chile) and Calafate (Argentina) are examples of how international recognition has allowed unique areas to become leading figures in the development of nature tourism based on effective schemes of conservation.

 

Conveying on Cape Horn the status of ‘Biosphere Reserve’ allows the whole area, through the close collaboration of public services, businesses, local communities and science, to become a destination for ecotourism to rival other world leaders in the field.

 

It permits the gathering of knowledge and long term scientific investigation of the area while assuring that the area continues to be highly attractive to tourists. This style of responsible tourism development would increase worldwide recognition for the area and its produce, which would carry an exclusive label “Biosphere - Made in Cape Horn” as an assurance of quality.

 

 

Ecological diversity on global and miniature scales  

 

The islands which make up the territory of Cape Horn are one of the few regions in the world where temperate forests remain in an almost pristine condition. The rainy sub-Antarctic forests are moreover the planet’s southern-most forest ecosystem.

 

The Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve encompasses a great range of different habitats: evergreen and deciduous Nothofagus forests, wetlands and peat bogs, glaciers, mountainous regions, bare rock, lakes and lagoons, channels and fjords. It is one of the 37 most pristine areas of wilderness in the world (Wilderness Area Concept, Conservation International 2002)

In the area of the reserve live endangered species, like the Magellanic Woodpecker (Campephilus magellanicus), which is the largest woodpecker in Latin America.

 

Recent studies have shown that the largest diversity of species of mosses, liverworts and lichen in Chile is found in the Magellanic region: Our southern region has around 1000 species of bryophytes and lichens, representing more than 5% of the world’s bryophytes.

 

 

 

Historical-cultural diversity: Yahgans, Colonialism and Voyagers  

 

More than 500 archeological sites are found along the coastlines of Navarino Island and other regional islands. 'Conchales’ (Middens) which are more than 7000 years old tell the story of the Yahgan tribe, nomadic hunters who navigated the waters of the Beagle Channel, creating a complex cosmology and a sophisticated ecological knowledge. For Charles Darwin, the meeting with the Yahgan was essential for the development of his concept of human development detailed in his “Origin of the Species”. Today the Yahgan represent the most threatened of the indigenous cultures of Chile.

 

 

During the 19th and 20th Centuries the Cape Horn region represented the ultimate challenge for European colonists and contrasts with the rest of Hispanic Catholic Chile: English missionaries, the gold rush and farming transformed the natural and cultural landscapes. Finally in the history of worldwide navigation, Cape Horn represents a tempestuous landmark and more than 1000 shipwrecks are testimony to its danger.

 

 

 

The Cape Horn Biosphere Iniciative

 

The Government of the Chilean Province of Antarctica, The I. Municipality of Cape Horn, The National Forestry Commission (CONAF), The National Commission of Environment, the University of Magallanes and the Omora Foundation encourage this project. They count amongst their supporters an important group of other state institutions, a growing number of the population of Puerto Williams, companies, Chilean scientists and diverse centers of investigation in foreign countries.

 

The regional government considers investing funds in focused projects for the development of sustainable tourism in the area. Of these, they highlight:

 

“Ecotourism in the Antarctic Province”-The Corporation for the Encouragement of Production (CORFO) finances, through it’s Fund of Innovative Development, to gather information for the design of sustainable tourist services in the area.

 

The land-use plan for Navarino Island (2003-2005) will include a plan for the division of land compatible with the future Biosphere Reserve, which will allow the successful implementation of criterion for the use of natural resources in the different zones.

 

The Omora Foundation has worked since 2000 in the fields of scientific investigation, biological conservation and education and attracts both national and international funding in order to develop projects in the Cape Horn region (e.g. Explora-CONICYT; FIA; Fulbright; National Science Foundation)

 

The German Ministry for Education and the Scientific Investigation (BMBF) helps through the bi-national project Biokonchil (2003-2006)- a collection of bio-physical  and socio-economical data from the area with the aim of improving the information available with which to make decisions.

 

Avina, an international foundation that promotes social development contributes to the process of co-ordination and formalizing the future Biosphere Reserve. (2004-2005)

 

 

The stages

 

First stage - April 2005: The completion of the UNESCO Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve nomination form.

 

Second stage - To formalize the present inter-institutional work group as the Reserve’s Executive Committee and a Consulting Board. They will also determine the responsibilities of the institutions with regard to the public and private organizations. Their third duty will be to identify and prioritize the work that needs to be done in the different spheres of the future Reserve. This Executive Committee will be made up of representatives of public services, political figures, scientists and members of the local community.

 

Third stage - The Executive Committee and the Consulting Board prepare for the institution of a legal body coordinating the activities within the Reserve. In the meantime, the Committee will be responsible for the co-ordination of the activities undertaken by all the different groups involved. The Consulting Board will advise on the issues of community interest, in particular the development of tourism, the level of traditional fishing and the use of the reserves natural resources.

 

Fourth stage - To complete the funding application process, for example to the Global Environment Facility, for projects that develop participation and allow the pursuit of, and the multisectoral support for, the implementation of the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve.

 

Implementation of plans for development in the various fields of the biosphere reserve of Cape Horn in line with the conclusions reached through the inter-institutional collaboration and from the local Agenda 21. Agenda 21 is an initiative which allows the local community to systematically deliberate any concerns and questions they have associated with the project and to articulate opinions and solutions to these problems.

 

 

For more information:

 

 

CONAF

Pedro Araya:           

paraya@conaf.cl

 

Gobernación de la Provincia Antártica Chilena

Governor Eduardo Barros:        ebarros@interior.gov.cl

 

Cape Horn Municipality

Mayor Jose Soto-Passek:

municipalidad@municipalidadcabodehornos.cl

 

Fundación Omora

Dr. Ricardo Rozzi:     fundación@omora.org

 

Concepto de la Reserva de Biosfera:

www.unesco.org/mab/

 

Investigación científica en Isla Navarino:

www.omora.org

 

Ecoturismo:

www.ties.org

 

Credits

 

Photos and text: Fundación Omora and Gobernación de la Provincia Antártica Chilena.

Layout and design by Adrian Mill.  Updated by Christopher Anderson.

 

Last updated: August 2005.