Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park commemorates 100 years as a symbol of conservation in Chile

With a ceremony that brought together national and regional authorities and representatives of services linked to conservation, Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park commemorated its 100 years of existence, highlighting its importance as the first national park created by the State of Chile and as one of the main symbols of the country's policy for the protection of natural heritage.

This commemoration coincides with the process of transferring the administration of State-protected areas from the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) to the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service (SBAP), a new institution under the Ministry of the Environment and specialized in nature protection and the management of the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP).

The Minister of Agriculture, Jaime Campos, highlighted the historic character of Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park and the role it has played as the starting point of Chile's conservation policy, stating that "this is the first National Park that existed in Chile, or that was created in Chile by the State. And from it, a whole policy aimed at promoting conservation, development, and the maintenance of Chile's Natural Reserves began to be implemented in our country. And today it allows us to showcase more than 100, 110 parks or reserves throughout the country."

The authority added that "maintaining biodiversity, flowers, and fauna in our country is an inescapable duty for us. As a Ministry, for many, many years, we have done this through a service called the National Forestry Corporation. Now, as a result of legislative changes, the responsibility will fall on an entity under the Ministry of the Environment. But, honestly, the relationship we have had with this park and its development will continue, beyond legal formalities."

During the ceremony, the work carried out by CONAF over its 56 years of existence in the administration and protection of the State's protected wild areas was also highlighted.

Thus, CONAF's Executive Director, Aída Baldini, underscored the relevance of the natural heritage that the country protects and the legacy that the institution hands over to the new service. "We have reached a figure of protecting, through the National System of State Protected Wild Areas, 18.8 million hectares. This truly means the protection and conservation that the country dedicates to its natural resources and natural beauties. Having given 56 years of our existence to improve and care for these national parks, today we obviously hand over what is truly called a legacy, and we deliver it to the Biodiversity Service. But we will always be supporting and attentive to all the development of the country's protected areas," she noted.

Along the same lines, the National Director of SBAP, Tomás Saratscheff, highlighted the coincidence between the centenary of Chile's first national park and the beginning of a new institutional stage for conservation. "Today we are celebrating a very special milestone for Chile and for our service. Because we are celebrating the completion of 100 years since the creation of our oldest national park in Chile, Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park, which coincides precisely with the year in which the National System of State Protected Wild Areas, administered for 56 years by CONAF, will be transferred to this new service, to this new institution dedicated especially and exclusively to nature protection and the administration of the State's protected areas," he emphasized.

The ceremony also highlighted the contribution of protected areas to regional development, ecosystem conservation, and nature tourism.

The representative of the Los Lagos Regional Government, Carlos Recondo, valued the vision of those who a century ago promoted the creation of the park and highlighted that the region currently has more than 1.8 million protected hectares, equivalent to about 37% of its surface area. "From the regional government, we feel legitimate pride in this celebration. Here there was recognition of the people who 100 years ago had that vision of the importance of conservation and the ecosystems that protected areas provide us," he stated.

For his part, the regional presidential delegate of Los Lagos, Cristián Palma, emphasized that the centenary of Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park reflects a State policy sustained over generations. "The 100 years of Pérez Rosales Park show us that this has been a State vision: protecting these treasures we have and caring for them so they can be enjoyed by all. In fact, recently we have gone out to the world with our important beauties like this beautiful park. And, as a Government, we will continue protecting it," he noted.

Created in 1926, Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park represents a century of protection of one of Chile's most emblematic natural territories and constitutes a testament to the evolution of the country's public conservation policies.