THE NEXT ECONOMY
veling in the Aysén, we see innumerable landscapes that need restoration. There are centuries of meaningful work ahead for people who are devoted to ecological restoration careers. CONSERVATION / PARK LANDS Within the Next Economy, preserving wilderness in Chile and allowing evolution to continue to unfold, is most prominent in our conservation efforts. The creation of large parklands and nature sanctuaries is of highest priority among several entities and foundations in the region (Butler, 2008). Over the past 20 years these entities have protected some 2 million acres. Twelve projects comprise this number, including Corcovado National Park in southern Chile and Monte León National Park in the Santa Cruz province of Argentina; which are both completed. Other examples include the Cat Trust Project, in the provincial park of Piñalito in the Misiones Province of Argentina and the acquisition of rich, bio-diverse, wetland savannas in the Corrientes Province in northeastern Argentina. Large sectors of these threatened and impacted areas are now being restored and are showing dramatically improved wildlife numbers. The future Patagonia National Park, in the Aysén region of southern Chile, will be one of the crown jewels of the Chilean National Park System. This project is larger than, and as spectacular, as Torres del Paine National Park. The Pumalin Park is a nature sanctuary, similar in scale to Yosemite National Park. It is managed by a foundation as a public access park, under a private initiative. Within the next 15 to 20 years, it too, will be donated to Chile, and join the country’s National Park System. WILDLIFE IN OUR LIFE: Sharing the Planet with Others Naturalist Lois Crisler once wrote: “Wilderness without its animals is dead” (1991, p. 92). Behind all land conservation work stands the reality of a global extinction crisis. Whether in the air, in the water, or on the ground, species of every ecosystem around the world are going extinct not by the day, but by the hour! The big question is: “If global climate change has finally been recognized for what it is, and for what it implies, then, why hasn’t the extinction crisis been seen for what it is and what it implies, as well?” Climate change is but one of the basic, driving factors behind unraveling ecosystems and the loss of wildlife. Many wildlife species, including the yellow cardinal, the giant river otter, the mountain vizcacha, the manned wolf, the giant anteater, the tail tyrant, the jaguar, or, in Chile and Argentina, the huemul deer, are almost extinct. It is critical to stop and reflect on the fact that these marvelous creatures, each the result of billions of years of evolution, are almost gone! It is worthwhile to contemplate about why we find ourselves in this slow motion catastrophe we call the extinction crisis. Then, we must seriously consider the necessity for the Next Economy, whose intrinsic logic is thrift, conservation, minimized consumption, and very importantly, restorative measures that will save these wild and wonderful creatures that our fellow members in the biotic community call, “Spaceship Earth”.
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