From the Northern Wetlands to the Patagonian Steppe: Discover the Winning Projects of the FMA 2024-25 Fund

The biocultural value of the Patagonian steppe and the need to reconnect with this ecosystem through ancestral medicine and ethnobotany; the rescue of urban peatlands in Aysén; the protection of macroalgae forests in Coliumo; and a heritage navigation school in the Dalcahue channel are some of the topics explored in this year’s selected projects as winners of the FMA fund. More than 200 applications were reviewed through a meticulous selection process by our foundation’s team, from which eight proposals were chosen. The areas of action that the fund aims to promote for the 2024-25 period include biodiversity conservation in urban contexts; coastal and marine ecosystem conservation; community water management for the conservation of aquatic ecosystems; creation of strategies and/or prevention of forest fires; conservation of native/endemic/threatened flora, fauna, and fungi whose distribution is underrepresented within protected areas, among others.

List of Winning Projects

1. Learning, Awareness, and Action in the Urban Peatland of Puerto Aysén
   Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region
   Representative: Francisca Bahamondes Guerra, Fundación AyCiencia Aysén

An initiative to raise awareness about the socio-ecological value of an urban peatland that has been turned into a landfill. Located near the Litoral Austral Neighborhood (LA), the project will create educational and artistic opportunities, along with an infographic to highlight this ecosystem unknown to many residents. “For years, peatlands in Aysén have been drained and filled in to develop the city, being considered of no productive value. Today, it is urgent to re-signify them within the community based on their biocultural value,” stated the proposal. The project seeks to connect neighbors with the peatland through a transdisciplinary exploration involving visual artists and scientists across four milestones: discussion and workshop; understanding the peatland’s value through art; characterization of flora and fauna; and installation of a peatland infographic in the LA Plaza. Interviews and outreach activities with residents are also planned. The beneficiaries will include students from Litoral Austral School.

2. Champeales
Arica and Parinacota Region
Representative: Claudia Del Fierro Gallegos, Colectivo CEQUIA

A research project enriched with audiovisual media on the management and irrigation of Andean wetlands by Aymara herders, who channel spring water to irrigate and green their champeales (wetlands) to expand their surface area and enhance their forage capacity. Since 2021, Colectivo CEQUIA has documented these practices in the areas of Mulluri, Surire, Parcohaylla, and Arica, including interviews with Aymara community members to preserve the memory of water management in the champeales. Upcoming filming will take place in Caquena, Parinacota, Putre, and General Lagos, followed by the preparation of the script, editing, and distribution of the documentary. The project is based on an anthropological investigation that began in 2021, highlighting the practices of nature creation in wetlands, where diverse flora and fauna coexist, including vicuñas, suris, fish, and birds. Moreover, the water that irrigates the wetlands originates from sacred mountains and flows down to the Pacific Ocean, fertilizing towns and oases in the Atacama Desert along the way. “We are interested in showing how ancient technologies can open possibilities for future generations. Also, how local management practices are fundamental for biodiversity conservation, considering that these wetlands have national and international protection (SNASPE, Ramsar Convention, and Lauca Biosphere Reserve-UNESCO),” the project leaders specified.

3. Heritage Navigation School
Los Lagos Region
Representative: Tomás Jorquera Peña, Escuela de Navegación Patrimonial.

A project that addresses the cultural and natural heritage of the Dalcahue channel in Chiloé through the use of sailing as a tool for social appreciation of the marine-coastal ecosystem. The initiative is a continuation of the Heritage Navigation Laboratory of the Dalcahue Museum, which enabled the construction of a navigable replica of the Chono people’s dalca; and the Experimental School in Chilota Riverbank Carpentry, where a traditional wooden boat was built alongside three recognized artisans of this Intangible Cultural Heritage of Chile (SIGPA registry). The school proposes recreating practices of using oars and the traditional crafting of Chilote rigging (with mast, rudder, and sails) involving students and apprentice riverbank carpenters. The methodology includes floating excursions through the Dalcahue channel, with technical guidance for monitoring coastal wetlands: Astillero and Diañ. Beneficiaries include the local community and students of Dalcahue, navigators and apprentice riverbank carpenters who attended the experimental school, as well as neighbors of the wetlands, locals, and tourists who visit the Dalcahue Museum during the summer.

4. Ethnobotanical Garden of Cochrane
Aysén Region
Representative: María Jesús May Espinoza, Naturaleza Pública.

The proposal seeks to create the first ethnobotanical garden at the Cochrane Hospital to educate about biodiversity and well-being in the Patagonian steppe. The aim is to reconnect human health with these ecosystems, which consist of festuca grasslands, empetrum, and mulinum, as well as peatlands and primitive vegetation—territories degraded by fires and overgrazing. Science, botany, museography, and environmental education are some of the disciplines covered by this community-oriented proposal aimed at seed conservation, ancestral memories, and regeneration. As a background to this project, since 2022, the community has begun cultivating the hospital’s interior courtyards to transform them into health and biodiversity hubs. “In an extreme zone, with limited access to health, education, and culture, this initiative represents a crucial opportunity to recover the ancestral memory of the region, as well as to promote ‘good living’ from an ethic of interdependence with the environment,” they stated in their application to the fund. This project involves the Environmental Committee, Colectivo Cheelkenue, Union of Senior Citizens’ Clubs, and indigenous groups Manke and Newenche, in association with regional public entities (Cochrane Hospital, CONAF, and SAG), as well as prestigious international entities (Frankfurt Botanical Garden and Round River Conservation Studies).

5. Kümelko III: Visions of the Pitrantu
Biobío Region
Representative: Nicolás Venegas, Kümelko Escuelita del Agua

Development of a biocultural restoration school in the coastal micro-watershed of Pangue, Los Álamos, Biobío Region. This initiative, located in the Nahuelbuta mountain range, seeks to develop a territorial role-playing game to revitalize the relationship between the watershed’s inhabitants and the pitrantu (pitra forest in Mapudungun), hydrophilic ecosystems that protect water in streams, wetlands, and lakes. The game invites participants to explore and engage in biocultural restoration activities alongside students from CFT Los Álamos (an intercultural institute) and relevant local actors. The activities will be mediated by playful narratives that will integrate environmental monitoring techniques and Lafkenche practices, establishing a relational and co-creative bond between the pitrantu and the participants. In this way, community water management, native forest conservation and restoration, and the protection of local biodiversity will be addressed.

6. Environmental Education Program and Community Conservation in Barrio Yungay
Metropolitan Region
Representative: Manuela Dittborn, Museo Taller

This initiative promotes environmental education in an urban biodiversity circuit in Barrio Yungay, connected with a sclerophyllous garden, to enhance this unique ecosystem in an urban environment threatened by resource exploitation. The objective will be to foster the conservation of surrounding gardens and forests, such as the Miyawaki ecosystems of Museo Taller and Plaza Libertad, through learning sessions aimed at the educational communities of Peumayen School and Casa Mefuln, with a special focus on children. “Children will have the opportunity to explore and experience the biocultural richness of the neighborhood,” stated the project executors, covering cognitive, sensory, and emotional aspects, as well as a deep connection with the natural heritage. The direct beneficiaries include children between 6 and 15 years old, mostly migrants (80%) and from single-parent families, as well as the nearby community.

7. Identity Recognition of Indigenous Heritage Sites (SRPI) on the Northern Coast of the Maule Region
Maule Region
Representative: Elizabeth Oñate Vicencio, with the support of the Calquín-Maripangue Mapuche Community, Empresa Base Científica Pronaturaleza, Colectivo Baguales, Parliament of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Maule.

This is a transdisciplinary study of Indigenous heritage sites aimed at assessing conservation and developing protection strategies. Using participatory methodologies with local communities, the project will gather data on biodiversity, history, hydrology, ancestral practices, and land ownership. This information will allow the categorization of SRPI and the development of environmental monitoring techniques, such as rainfall recording and pest presence.

In the second phase, dissemination materials and preservation strategies will be developed, including sustainable tourism programs co-constructed with the communities. Currently, the Maule region hosts over 20 SRPI sites that lack protection and have been largely unexplored bioculturally, despite being a territory with over 400 years of Indigenous practices. “The legacy has been obscured by colonialism and the loss of autonomy,” note the project managers. The region is home to 23 Indigenous associations registered with the National Corporation for Indigenous Development (CONADI), which form a living culture with practices unknown to much of the country’s population.

8.Guardians of the Underwater Forests: Community Monitoring to Understand and Protect Marine Life

Biobío Region
Representative: Luisa Saavedra Löwenberger, Colectivo Bosque Submarino.

This proposal focuses on developing a community monitoring program for macroalgae forests—mainly kelp—along the coast of Coliumo. The project integrates lessons learned from previous restoration efforts with both scientific and local knowledge. The program will involve children, teachers, community members from Coliumo, and others interested in joining the group of guardians.

The project includes basic training in underwater monitoring for divers, who will participate in a spatial and sensory experience of the marine forest ecosystem. Additionally, workshops on marine ecosystems will be conducted with students using clay. “Implementing the monitoring will help identify changes, threats, and phenomena observed by people who live in or visit the coast, incorporating their ancestral/traditional knowledge,” explained the project managers. They added that they will collaborate with students and teachers from Escuela Caleta del Medio in Coliumo; women shore-gatherers from Sindicato N°2 de Algueras; members of the fishermen’s union; residents of Coliumo and nearby areas; local and external divers; aquaculturists, and those surrounding the territory.