Memory and conservation: El Culebrón wetland project redefines experiences surrounding the tsunami and earthquake of 2015

“Conservation, Memory and Heritage in the El Culebrón Wetland”, is the title of one of the projects selected to be executed with the support of our FMA Grant in its past version. The initiative, promoted by the NGO Surgencia, focused on the work of rescuing memories in relation to the events that affected the population of the Baquedano neighborhood, Coquimbo, located next to the El Culebrón wetland, after the 8.4 Richter scale earthquake and tsunami of 2015.

 María Valladares, project leader from NGO Surgencia, explained that the emphasis was placed on memories of disasters as a tool for education, as well as for in strengthening community resilience in the face of socio-natural disasters . Together with residents of Baquedano, communities of Peñuelas, Victoria population, port area and Puerto Aldea are invited to be part of the activities. These include exhibitions, talks, wetland clean-up sessions, and the making of a mini-documentary .

Among the topics addressed through the initiatives, she explained, included information about ecosystems such as wetlands, beaches and dunes in their role as mitigators of extreme events. At the same time, the neighbors recounted their testimonies about how they lived that day in 2015 and its consequences. Gemma Vásquez Epuñán, part of the Ecological Awareness Group, for example, told how the houses in the area were flooded with more than two meters of water. For his part, firefighter Cristián Silva recounted how, among his tasks, he had to contain those who were in a state of shock during the tragedy.

The diversity of experiences revealed how the scope of the tragedy continued to impact people’s daily lives, explained Valladares, so that the project also operated as a space to discuss mental health. Likewise, the initiative was linked to art projects, through the recovery of photographs of the disaster, work that was in charge of the photographer Tatiana Alfaro, who produced a photobook “Suggested Landscape”, that was intertwined with the slogan “Memory saves lives”, as well as a contest in which 200 images were used.

During the project’s execution period, an exhibition was also held together with the Fundación Coquimbo Patrimonial, which rescued images of a tragedy of a similar magnitude that occurred in 1922, along with reflections that pointed to the idea of demystifying that these events only occur over long time periods. In this context, a talk was also given Foundation Proyecta Memoria, which promoted the hashtag #LosDesastresNoSonNaturales.

Neighborhood self-management and wetland protection

 Valladares explained that the project had three stages oriented towards research, the preparation of communities, the generation of local links and the construction of memory in a collective way, with the perspective of valuing the creation of self-management tools. Among the challenges that arose, she explained, was the difficulty of summoning neighbors who often have complex lives, linked to conflicts that have socio-environmental dimensions.

      “Dealing with people had to be a permanent endeavor. We wanted to work in a transdisciplinary and inclusive way,” said Valladares, who also referred to the need to first install the theme of memory to generate a collective experience prior to raising awareness about the environment and wetland care.

As a result of this process, some of the conclusions pointed to having better material conditions, such as evacuation routes and lighting, as well as the need of raising awareness among the authorities so that the weight of major catastrophes is properly considered, calling for a respect for nature and the role of scientists. In addition, the task of generating knowledge about the El Culebrón wetland as an ecosystem that helped prevent the disaster from becoming worse is ongoing. Soon, Valladares added, they are looking to install a memorial in the area to remember the tragedy that still affects the community.

*Among the organizations and institutions that participated in this project, there are also the Agrupación Conciencia Ecolológica,  Fundación Proyecta Memoria, Municipality of Coquimbo, the Museum of everyday life and the Center for Advanced Studies in Arid Zones (CEAZA).