Atacama Takes Center Stage at COP17
Ximena Retamal Valenzuela, journalist, political scientist, and coordinator of Communications, Linkage and International Relations for Landata, delivered the address during a Saturday panel titled “Natural and cultural heritage: identity, memory, and meaning.” UNESCO representative Nigel Crawhall moderated the session, which also featured Fany Kuiru Castro, of the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin (COICA). From the global platform, Retamal pressed international environmental strategists to expand their focus past the Amazon and embrace hyper-arid landscapes.
The intervention highlighted the Atacama Desert as an irreplaceable scientific archive. The region preserves exposed surfaces reaching approximately 25 million years old. Soil microbes thriving in these extreme conditions supply researchers with critical data regarding biological adaptation and climate resilience.
Defining Natural Deserts Against Desertification
Landata drew a strict line separating natural deserts from human-induced desertification. Desertification represents active land degradation, whereas natural desert ecosystems spent millions of years evolving specialized life forms. Retamal stated that these territories are not devoid of biodiversity, but rather host invisible life essential for planetary science.
The cultural dimensions of the region formed a core pillar of the presentation. Indigenous communities have inhabited the Atacama for generations, treating salt flats, oasis zones, and mountain ranges as spiritual anchors. Retamal noted that safeguarding these habitats requires protecting indigenous knowledge systems and water management practices.
The Looming Threat of Mineral Extractivism
Intense economic pressures driven by copper and lithium extraction continue to threaten desert water systems and local heritage. Landata argued that global energy transitions cannot afford to ignore the very territories supplying these strategic minerals. Retamal emphasized that true sustainability criteria must account for both ecological integrity and indigenous governance.
Testing Global Frameworks on Arid Ground
The debate intersects directly with Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Landata challenged international conventions to answer how they intend to protect unique ecosystems whose ecological value does not derive from heavy plant cover. The Nodo Landata initiative operates with funding from the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) of Chile.
Unlocking the Global Conversation at the Nature and Culture Summit
During the Nature and Culture Summit held in Yerevan, Armenia, the Nodo Landata of the Universidad Católica del Norte called for recognizing natural deserts as ecosystems with unique biodiversity and territories of ancestral identity, in the face of growing economic and environmental pressures.
