Endangered Species In Chile Essay

Chile takes the protection of endangered species very seriously. In fact, Chile became a Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) on July 1, 1975 as a founding member along with eight other countries. Chile also signed and ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1994 [PNUD], two years after its introduction at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Most recently, on October 5, 2015, we announced the creation of the largest marine reserve in the Americas called the Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park [National Geographic]. One of the main reasons for this serious attention to the environmental welfare is that Chile’s biodiversity is incredibly unique. Its unusual geography causes it to have a wide range of climates, from tropical in the north to Antarctic in the south. As a result, Chile is home to a variety of ecosystems. Of the more than 29,000 species identified in the country, about 25% are endemic, and many of which are recognized as endangered. As of …show more content…
Since 2005 we have been a part of the Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN), and have been working to eliminate habitats that can support invasive alien species (IAS) [CBD]. Even so, Chile’s main challenge is not environmental; it is financial. In 2012, the mining sector, especially copper mining, provided about 60% of all exports from Chile [Wikipedia]. The international price of copper has fallen by almost half from a high of over $4.00/lb in 2011 to under $2.50/lb today. Prices are not expected to recover above current levels for at least the next two years [CME Group]. This fall in export prices has had a significant impact on our economy. In particular that means that it is becoming more of a challenge to make sufficient funds available to continue to provide protection to all of the endangered species according to the