| Due to the Chilean system of public protected areas has several problems, and a large portion of the territory is privately owned, private protected areas (PPA) are increasingly important for biodiversity conservation. International and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), companies, communities, and private landowners have created more than 500 private conservation projects in Chile. This trend has provoked discussion about the role of the private sector and the mechanisms to foster nature conservation. This research describes the evolution of PPA creation in Chile, the actors involved, and the political effects of private conservation. The motivations of landowners and the strategies to extend conservation to unprotected territories were assessed using interviews with experts from academia, NGOs, business, indigenous communities, and public agencies. This research reveals that conservation is not a "tension free" terrain and that policies could exacerbate conflicts of interest related to certain territories. This paper concludes that nature conservation is used politically by different groups and there is a predominance of neoliberal wisdom in how to implement conservation. |
