Identificación de sitios prioritarios para conservación del agua y la biodiversidad asociada en la cuenca del río Limarí, norte de Chile

Abstract

For the northern and central regions of Chile, a high risk of drought due to the effect of climate change is projected. Its impacts will depend on the ability of the communities to face the phenomenon, in a context of fragility of institutions and markets, deterioration of the environment and lack of planning. The objective of this article is to share part of the experience of a planning process for water conservation and management in the Limarí river basin (30 ° S), northern Chile. An adaptation of the open standards methodology was carried out to conserve water systems and their biodiversity, defining conservation objects, rating their threats, and identifying priority conservation sites. This was developed during the spring of 2017, and involved bibliographic review, geospatial analysis, interviews with scientists and key actors, along with expanded workshops in different areas of the basin. Thus, 11 conservation objects were identified, which are threatened by 17 human activities. In addition, 14 sites of interest for the conservation of water and biodiversity in the Limarí river basin were identified. The results are an input for territorial planning and definition of protected wild areas