Climate change and conservation in productive regions

This research area was launched in 2008 and represents a unique initiative for the country, seeking to meet the current need to promote biodiversity conservation in productive environments and identify the consequences of climate change for society.

The current focus is on working closely with wine producers, whose vineyards are located in the Mediterranean Ecosystem of Chile and scattered among the last remnants of sclerophyll forest and matorral.

These ecosystems are categorized as global conservation priorities; they are biodiversity hotspots, have high rates of endemism, and less than 1% of their area comes under any form of protection by the Chilean State.

Among the objectives of this research area are the identification of climate change adaptation strategies that will benefit Chilean producers and the ecosystem that supports them, and raising awareness within the industry and the local community of the value of sclerophyll forest and matorral.