Meet the conservationists: Natalia and Sebastian protect the camouflaged biodiversity of Chile’s Altiplano

Originally from southern Chile, Natalia Gutierrez Salgado and Sebastian Vidal Diaz fell in love with the Altiplano up north. The area has an average altitude of 4,000 metres. ‘People think that biodiversity equals giant trees and lots of insects and birds. In the Altiplano you must look a bit better, but there are vicuñas, a large number of birds and many other species. The biodiversity is camouflaged by the landscape,’ says Natalia, geographer by education. The couple founded Aka Pacha Foundation and work closely with Indigenous communities. ‘We respect their rich and accurate biocultural knowledge,’ explains Sebastian.

Header photo: Natalia and Sebastian in the Altiplano. All photos on this page: © Aka Pacha

The impact of the Altiplano

Already during her first visit Natalia lost her heart to the Altiplano. ‘We drove from the coast up to the desert and continued ascending until we reached the Altiplano. Being in these mountains, near huge volcanoes evoked a lot of feelings.’ Growing up in southern Chile, eucalyptus plantations were the only “nature” she knew, she says. ‘This wild landscape touched me deeply.’

Nowadays, she and Sebastian are based in Putre, an city situated at more than 3500 meters of altitude in the uppermost north of Chile. ‘I fell in love with the Chilean highlands during my internship in the Surire Salt Lake^[1]A salt lake in Lauca National Park, Chile, where the feeling I had to do something to protect the Altiplano was born. When I came to Putre in 2018 and started talking to the people in the area, the idea further developed. Things moved forward quickly when I met Natalia one year later. In 2021 Aka Pacha was formally registered,’ recalls Sebastian.

Camouflaged biodiversity

Chile’s Altiplano has an average height of 4,000 metres. At this extreme altitude, the only tree able to survive is the Polylepis (Polylepis tarapacana). Many of the other species in the area are less visible at first glance. ‘It does not mean they are not there,’ states Natalia. ‘People often think that biodiversity is equal to giant trees and lots of insects and birds. Here in the Altiplano you must look a bit better, but there are vicuñas^[2]Vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna) belongs to the camel family, like alpacas and llamas. Populations are found in South American countries such as Peru, Bolivia and Chile., a large number of birds and many other species. The biodiversity is camouflaged by the landscape.’ According to Sebastian, the region hosts are 130 bird species.

Natalia continues with a twinkle in her eye. ‘In the past year I became increasingly interested in highland flowers. I love to see how they have adapted to survive in this harsh environment: some have the shape of a pillow; others have very long leaves to catch more sun. I think you can extend this to the people in the area; they also adapted to this ecosystem.

‘When people experience that they can contribute to conservation themselves, the paradigm changes. Instead of being told what they cannot do, they become part of the process.’

• Sebastian Vidal Diaz, Aka Pacha Foundation

Regional consequences of climate change

Natalia points out that highlands like the Altiplano are often not mentioned in the climate change discourse, while the ecosystem is among those most affected. ‘The rain cycles in the Altiplano have become unpredictable. Sometimes we have large amounts of rain in a short time, which causes a lot of erosion and loss of the high Andean wetlands; an ecosystem that absorb water and contribute to the downstream water flow.’

‘In the past 50 years, the water availability has been decreasing. There is less water and the heavy rains cannot be absorbed by the soil,’ continues Sebastian. He points out that the weather in the highlands is not isolated from other ecosystems in the region. ‘There is a direct relationship between the Altiplano and the situation at the coast. At the same time, our ecosystem depends on the rains coming from the Amazon rainforest. The people in the area know about this interconnection. We respect their rich and accurate biocultural knowledge.’ ‘The area has many endangered endemic species. One of them is  Arica frog (Telmatobius pefauri)  that can only be found in the Precordillera de Putre, an area measuring less than 5000 square kilometres. Changes in habitat and water flows affect species such as these directly. Instead of focusing on individual species, we look at their relationship with the ecosystem,’ says Sebastian.

Gaining trust

From the start, working with the Indigenous Aymara people in the area was at the core of their approach, but it took time to gain their trust. There was a lack of trust among the inhabitants due to earlier conservation efforts by governmental institutions that did not involve the local communities.

Trust was lacking among the inhabitants due to previous conservation efforts by governmental institutions that did not include local communities. ‘National parks were created without the knowledge of residents. Imagine coming home after a long day of work to suddenly find your house in the middle of a reserve,’ says Sebastian. ‘Back in the days, national parks were managed by the military who knocked on people’s doors for food. People developed a distrust towards conservation.’

It is therefore important that people get to know the work of Aka Pacha, continues the young conservationist. ‘I believe trust is essential in conservation. It is important that communities see that we have a different approach than government officials. We visit people also outside office hours, also on Sundays. When people experience that they can contribute to conservation themselves, the paradigm changes. Instead of being told what they cannot do, they become part of the process.’

‘We believe long-term conservation requires working closely with communities. We always consult them at the start of each project.’

• Natalia Gutierrez Salgado, Aka Pacha Foundation

A privately protected area

Sebastian talks about the project supported by the Land Acquisition Fund. ‘We met Don Vicente in 2019, whose family owns the Muyusire property. He was interested in conservation, so we asked if he wanted to create a privately managed protected area rather than of one governed by the state. We started working together to establish the Condorpasa Nature Reserve on the land of Don Vicente to protect species like the Andean cat (Leopardus jacobita) and the marbled four-eyed frog (Pleurodema marmoratum). Not much later, his brothers wanted to sell their property shares. Because their potential buyers were mining companies, Don Vicente reached out to us with the message that we needed to do act urgently.’

Aka Pacha found the IUCN NL Land Acquisition Fund and contacted Marc Hoogeslag, coordinator of the fund, and his team. It led to a field visit of Liliana Jáuregui, the soon to be director of IUCN NL, and subsequently a grant in 2024. Currently, Don Vicente, part of the Aymara community, is in the process of buying the land shares of his brothers to expand the Condorpasa Nature Reserve. ‘This way, we hope to safeguard this area for eternity. Our aim is long-term conservation covering all aspects,’ adds Sebastian.  

Indigenous knowledge

Indigenous knowledge drives their work. ‘The communities inspire me,’ explains Natalia. ‘People know a lot about nature and its cycles: they know when it will rain, which plants are medicinal. They are very connected to their environment. As a foundation, we believe long-term conservation requires working closely with communities. We always consult them at the start of each project: What do they know about this species, what is its role in the ecosystem and where have they see them? Often we find species quite easily because of the knowledge of the Aymara.’

‘Many people have changed Chile’s Altiplano for a life in the city’, says Sebastian. ‘If they come back, they often find jobs that have little to do with their historical connection with the territory, for example in the mining sector. Through conservation, we give them an option to gain money while taking care of their natural heritage.’

At the same time, Aka Pacha sees the importance of giving space to existing livelihoods, explains Natalia. ‘We have to find solutions with the communities. The reality is that people have livestock, and we have to find solutions in which we all can co-exist in this territory.’ ‘A puma,’ continues Sebastian, ‘prefers a avicuña for a meal. If they cannot find them, they will attack a llama or alpaca, often kept by people as livestock. By protecting vicuñas, we also protect livestock. It is therefore important to profoundly understand the ecosystem’s dynamics.’

‘Getting to know the Altiplano is an ongoing invitation to explore even more. We feel good because we dedicate our lives to something greater.’

• Sebastian Vidal Diaz, Aka Pacha Foundation

Being part of something greater

Aka Pacha’s approach is successful but does not come easy, shares Sebastian. ‘Life here in Putre is pretty lonely and we miss our family. But I was lucky to meet Natalia, we support each other. Together we have knocked on many doors for many years, and it was incredible when the door to IUCN NL opened through the Land Acquisition Fund,’

‘It is hard missing family and friends,’ agrees Natalia, ‘but when I am in the Altiplano I experience a happiness I cannot explain. I feel like a child again. It is more than a job: it fills my heart. Sharing our work with people is also important to keep motivated. We do this, for example, with other conservationists in the region; we are in a border region and share similar ecosystems with Bolivia and Peru.’

Sebastian notes that their work resembles that of an explorer. ‘Getting to know the Altiplano is an ongoing invitation to explore even more. We feel good because we dedicate our lives to something greater,’ he concludes.

About the Land Acquisition Fund

For 25 years, the Land Acquisition Fund of has been enabling the protection of more than 70,000 hectares of habitat. Through the work of the local NGOs, safeguarding important ecosystems creates a win-win for biodiversity, the climate and human well-being.