Victory! The Cochamó Valley is now protected forever

 

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In December 2025, after years of hard work and tireless fundraising, a coalition of conservation groups, scientists and community members called Conserva Puchegüín was able to purchase a tract of wild land called Fundo Puchegüín, protecting Cochamó Valley and the surrounding area forever.

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Cochamó Valley is just 10 percent of Fundo Puchegüín, a roughly 329,000-acre plot of Chilean land that connects over 4 million acres of protected areas across Chile and Argentina. It is a paradise of biodiversity and a major carbon sink like the Amazon and Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. And because the local community has been fighting extractive development for decades, it is one of the few natural places left on our home planet.

So when Fundo Puchegüín was put up for sale at Christie’s in 2022 alongside beachfront mansions and investment properties, the community rallied to save it. Now that they have succeeded, their vision for what comes next is an entirely new model of grassroots conservation. Conserva Puchegüín’s management plan is led and co-created by the local community. They went door to door to every house in the Valley, some taking two days to get to on horseback, to ensure that every voice is included. Their approach will protect wildlife and natural resources, as well as encourage responsible tourism and recreation that honors their traditional lifeways.

Congratulations,  Conserva  Puchegüín, Chileans and climate defenders everywhere. Together, we  are proving  that another world is possible.

Community Conservation Works Community-led Conserva Puchegüín’s successful purchase of Fundo Puchegüín is the future of grassroots conservation and a major win for our home planet. Watch

Photos: (Top) Closing the day at Campo Ventura, the granite domes of Mount Trinidad in the background. Cochamó Valley, Chile. RODRIGO MANNS (Middle) Miguel Boehm jams on the 3,100-foot, 19-pitch stunner Positive Affect (5.12b) on Arco Iris. CATALINA CLARO (Middle) On the deck of an 80-year-old homestead house, camp managers of Camping La Junta pay a visit to their fellow camp managers and neighbors from Camping Vista Hermosa. ZENÓN SEELIGER (Middle) The famous “Los Toboganes” (The Slides) next to the main campsites in La Junta are an iconic if frigid swimming hole. RODRIGO MANNS (Bottom) Seán Villanueva O'Driscoll and local climber and guide Juan Catón embrace at the top of a route that Juan had been wanting to climb for years. AUSTIN SIADAK

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