What we do
We work on multiple fronts to protect wildlife and ecosystems of the Araucanía
Collaborative Governance
Our program seeks to understand the dynamics of local territories, co-construct processes of reconnection and linkage between actors within them, and finally develop and sustain collaborative governance models that allow territories and their actors to project and sustain collaborative development processes around common visions.
The Luan Foundation has established itself as a leader in biodiversity protection and regenerative development, and its success lies largely in its collaborative governance model.
Unlike traditional hierarchical structures, collaborative governance ensures that the foundation's strategy is not a unilateral decision, but rather a living ecosystem of shared decision-making.
1. Legitimacy and Territorial Trust
For an organization that works with the land and communities, collaborative governance is not optional; it is the foundation.
Stakeholder Involvement: By including local communities, experts, and partners in decision-making, the Luan Foundation ensures that its projects are culturally and socially relevant.
Conflict Resolution: This model creates spaces for proactive dialogue, preventing environmental tensions from escalating into irreconcilable crises.
2. Resilience and Strategic Adaptability
In contexts of climate crisis and economic volatility, a single perspective can be limiting.
Collective wisdom: Collaboration allows for the integration of different types of knowledge (scientific, ancestral, and technical), resulting in a much more robust strategy for facing unforeseen events.
Agility: By decentralizing decision-making, work teams can react more quickly to the needs of the territory without waiting for centralized bureaucratic processes.
3. Sustainability of Long-Term Impact
Collaborative governance ensures that the foundation's mission transcends the individuals who lead it today.
Co-responsibility: When partners feel ownership of the processes, their commitment to maintaining protected areas or regenerative projects increases exponentially.
Support network: It strengthens a structure where resources (financial, human, and technical) are shared more efficiently among the members of the Luan ecosystem.
Ecological corridors
Habitat fragmentation is one of the main threats to native wildlife. Our corridor program works to reconnect isolated ecosystems.
We work closely with landowners, local communities, and public agencies to identify and restore biological corridors that allow the free movement of species such as the guanaco, puma, and rhea between different habitat areas (both national and international).
Our approach includes installing special fencing that allows for the adaptation of wildlife (guanacos), revegetation with native species in degraded areas (araucaria trees), marking wildlife crossings on roads, and educational work with schools in the territories and with landowners to promote livestock practices compatible with conservation.
We are currently managing a developing corridor between the Malleco Province of Chile (Lonquimay) and the Neuquén Province of Argentina (Las Lajas), with the aim of reintroducing the guanaco and the rhea, in a process that begins in the Huellas Lonquimay Private Conservation Area.
The Guanaco Corridor (or Luan Project, which means "guanaco" in Mapudungun) is a masterpiece of ecological connectivity in Northern Patagonia and central Chile. Its importance lies in the fact that it is not only a route for animals, but also a life support system for the ecosystem.
The corridor acts as a strategic bridge connecting protected areas in Chile and Argentina. It links the Huellas Reserve and the Alto Biobío National Reserve in Chile with conservation areas in the Neuquén Province of Argentina. It is also a unique meeting point where Patagonia, the High Andes, and the Valdivian Forest converge, allowing species to move between these climates according to the seasons.
Biological corridors are the best defense against global warming. By allowing species to move to cooler areas or areas with more water (altitudinal or latitudinal migration), the Guanaco Corridor ensures that biodiversity is not "trapped" in patches of drying land.
Environmental education
We firmly believe that long-term conservation requires deep cultural changes. That's why education is one of our fundamental pillars.
Our environmental education program reaches more than 500 students per year, through workshops in rural schools in Lonquimay and neighboring communities, talks at community centers, and a guided visit program to our rehabilitation center.
We develop specific teaching materials about native wildlife in the Araucanía, many with illustrations inspired by the region's rock art, integrating scientific knowledge with the Mapuche worldview.
We also have a special program for youth from Mapuche communities, which combines wildlife observation with rescuing traditional knowledge about the relationships between humans and nature.
Monitoring and science
Knowledge is the foundation of effective conservation. Our scientific program generates key data on the status of wildlife populations in the Andean-Patagonian region, with a special focus on the relationship between pumas and guanacos.
The Luan Project's environmental monitoring program is the "eyes on the ground" system that allows for the scientific validation of the biological corridor's success. Its main objective is to understand how these species use the landscape and how they interact with each other and with human activities. This relies on the important collaborative work of two key partners: Nahuelbuta Este Reserve (Puma) and the Kintu NGO (Guanaco).
1. Monitoring using Camera Traps
This is the primary tool for studying elusive wildlife.
Strategic placement: Camera traps are installed at wildlife crossings, water sources, and natural trails within the reserves (such as Huellas) and in nearby protected areas.
Data obtained: This allows for recording the presence, relative abundance, and hourly activity patterns. It is essential for detecting whether pumas are hunting in the area and whether guanacos are using the corridor seasonally.
2. Monitoring Predator-Prey Interactions
Cultural Validation: Modern scientific information is cross-referenced with ancestral knowledge about animal movement cycles in the Andes. The study does not examine species separately, but rather their dynamic relationships.
Ecology of Fear: The influence of puma presence on guanaco behavior is analyzed. This is vital for the health of the ecosystem, as the movement of guanacos (avoiding pumas) prevents overgrazing in specific areas.
Diet Analysis: Studies of feces and prey remains are conducted to confirm the puma's diet and ensure that the ecosystem maintains a natural balance without excessively impacting domestic livestock.
3. Community Participation and Citizen Science
Monitoring integrates local inhabitants (muleteers and Pehuenche communities).
Sighting Reports: Local inhabitants act as monitors, recording encounters or tracks (footprints and feces).
Native reforestation
We restore native forests with native species from the Araucanía region, creating quality habitat for local wildlife and capturing carbon to mitigate climate change. Our main focus has been the Araucaria project, regenerating the Araucaria araucana species, both in the conservation area managed by the foundation (Reserva Huellas Lonquimay) and on nearby properties.
The Araucaria Program of the Luan Foundation is one of the most emblematic initiatives of the Huellas Reserve in Lonquimay. Its objective is not only to plant trees, but to restore the ecological and cultural role of the Araucaria araucana (Pehuén), a species declared a Natural Monument and currently endangered.
Here is a summary of its main components:
1. Post-Fire Ecological Restoration
The Lonquimay area has historically been affected by catastrophic forest fires that destroyed large swaths of ancient forests.
Active Reforestation: The program collects seeds (pine nuts) from local trees to ensure genetic diversity and plants them in degraded areas.
Forest Enrichment: The Araucaria is not planted in isolation, but rather its associated ecosystem is recreated, including species such as the ñirre and lenga trees, which act as nurse trees for the growth of young saplings.
2. The High-Altitude Nursery in Huellas Reserve
Given that the Araucaria tree has an extremely slow growth rate (some reach maturity after 200 years), the program has a dedicated infrastructure:
Local Production: The nursery allows seedlings to acclimatize to the extreme conditions of Lonquimay (snow, wind, and frost) before being transplanted to their final location.
Research: Survival rates and growth are monitored to better understand how to address the threat of Araucaria Foliar Damage (AFD), a disease that has killed thousands of trees in recent years.
3. Nurse Tree Strategy and Protection
The program uses assisted regeneration techniques:
Herbivore Protection: Individual exclusions or protective barriers are installed to prevent livestock or wildlife from consuming tender shoots.
Long-Term Monitoring: Each reforested area is georeferenced to allow for annual monitoring of its health and growth.
4. Biocultural Dimension and Governance
In line with the Luan Foundation's vision, the program integrates local knowledge:
Connection with the Pehuén: The sacred and nutritional importance of the Araucaria tree for the Mapuche-Pehuenche communities of the area is recognized.
Environmental Education: The Huellas Reserve functions as an open classroom where volunteers and visitors learn about the importance of preserving this "living fossil."
Sustainable tourism
Well-managed nature tourism can be a powerful ally for conservation, generating economic resources for the local community and funds for our programs.
We develop wildlife watching routes in partnership with local tourism operators and Mapuche communities, offering unique experiences observing condors, pumas, foxes, and native birds in their natural habitat.
Every visitor who participates in an ecotourism activity linked to Fundación Luan directly contributes to our conservation programs through a percentage of the fee that goes to the conservation fund.
Our ecotourism volunteering program allows visitors from around the world to actively participate in monitoring, reforestation, and environmental education activities, combining a transformative experience with a real contribution to conservation.