Page 19 - 2021 BHP Foundation Strategy And Impact Booklet
P. 19
A Snapshot from Our Portfolio 19
10 Deserts LandScale El Boldo to Cantillana Cerro Alto del Gusano, Chile
Photo credit: Matías Tobar/
Spanning one-third of Australia, With increasing urgency, business, Conservation Corridor Fundación Tierra Austra
the Australian Deserts are globally government and civil society need to The Chile-Mediterranean habitat
significant arid lands which are home collaborate to tackle the complex and is Chile’s rarest, most threatened
to an exceptional diversity of animals interlinked environmental and socio- and least protected ecosystem with
and plants. The deserts hold immense economic challenges we face. It requires less than 3% under conservation.
cultural value, with Indigenous people landscape-level action however few Through our partnership, Fundación
calling them home for millennia. Despite decision-makers have access to reliable Tierra Austral is demonstrating
being relatively intact, these unique and comprehensive information about how application of the new 2016
desert ecosystems and the values they the status of and trends in sustainability Derecho Real de Conservación (DRC)
contain are under threat due to invasive at this scale. legislation enacted in Chile gives
exotic weeds, introduced pests, altered private landholders the ability to
fire regimes and impacts from climate LandScale is being developed in enter into an agreement that formally
change. The inherent remoteness collaboration with a growing coalition of protects a portion of their property
makes land management programs global partners including the Regional for conservation and natural heritage
difficult logistical feats which would Office of the International Union for the purposes, in perpetuity. The first DRC
be impossible to achieve without the Conservation of Nature in Costa Rica, conservation agreement finalized in the
knowledge and authority of Traditional the Nature Conservation and Research Corridor was the Cerro Poqui property,
Owners. Centre in Ghana, ProForest, Solidaridad a stunning and ecologically significant
in Guatemala, and EcoAgriculture landscape within the Cerro Poqui
The 10 Deserts Project has established Partners. It is enabling collaboration Nature Sanctuary in Coltauco, 120km
the world’s largest network of across private sector, governments and south-west of Santiago. This outcome
Indigenous-managed conservation civil society globally to translate complex has potentially profound implications
areas. In the past year, a new data into reliable landscape insights that for land conservation throughout
landmark for Indigenous control of can guide and incentivize sustainability Chile and other similar jurisdictions in
land management activities has been improvements at scale. South America, creating conservation
set, with management of the Project legislation that applies to private land
transitioning to the Indigenous Desert Our partnership is enabling pilots with and is grounded in civil law.
Alliance. Current project activities landscapes in Peru and Mexico. In both
include working with Traditional Owners landscapes, following the completion of
to create sustainable job and income initial baseline assessments, engagement
opportunities; applying traditional is underway with key landscape
fire management practices to restore stakeholders and Action Plans are in
biodiversity and maintain cultural development to address the issues
connections to country; and working identified by the LandScale assessments.
to control introduced species such as
camels and buffel grass.
