Latin America & the Caribbean

Chile

• © UNESCO/B.Martinez
• The Valley of the Moon, Atacama desert, Chile

The country hosts a National UNESCO Office in Santiago de Chile.

Local knowledge is taken into consideration and put to good use there: the world renowned rain-harvesting method of mist nets find their origin in Chile, and many other indigenous knowledge systems are prioritized.

It is participating in a Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) project that focuses on the central role of the Araucaria tree in the economic, social and spiritual lives of the inhabitants of the Andes in southern Chile.

The centre for Arid and Semi-arid Zones of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAZALAC), in La Serena, operates under the auspices of UNESCO. It promotes training, education, scientific research and technological initiatives in the region’s arid and semi-arid zones, where managing water resources is particularly difficult.

Below you can access the projects that are currently being implemented in the country within the framework of UNESCO’s Natural Sciences Sector.

Freshwater

- Water Centre for Arid and Semi-arid Zones of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAZALAC)

- International Hydrological Programme-Latin America and the Caribbean (IHP-LAC) Working group on snow and ice More

People, Biodiversity and Ecology

- Global change and mountain regions (GLOCHAMORE)  

- Biosphere Reserves (WNBRs)

- A tree at the centre: The Mapuche-Pewenche, people of the Araucaria, a Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) project More

- UNESCO-EOLSS Chair in Natural Resource Management, Land Planning and Environmental Protection, established in 1999 at the Catholic University of Concepción, Center of Environmental Sciences More

- UNESCO Chair in Environmental Engineering, established in 1993 at the University of Valparaíso, within the framework of the Santander Group More

Oceans

- Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/PTWS)

- UNESCO Chair in Coastal Oceanography, established in 1993 at the University of Concepción More

Earth Sciences

- Dryland Change: Past, Present, Future (IGCP, Project 500) 

- Hydrogeology, Hydrochemistry and Management of Coastal Aquifers on the Atlantic Coast of South America (IGCP, Project 519)

Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems

- A tree at the centre: The Mapuche-Pewenche, people of the Araucaria More