Humedales Orientales de Chiloé

Each year, the Humedales Orientales de Chiloé provides critical wintering habitat for several species of migratory shorebirds traveling a more than 30,000-km round trip. The site’s dozen wetlands, located on the Island of Chiloé in southern Chile, comprise a total of 1,900 hectares scattered throughout the picturesque landscape and support 27% of the global population of Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica) and 99% of this species’ Pacific Coast population. The wetlands also support 61% of the Pacific Coast population of Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus). Both species breed in North America and are considered of “high conservation concern” in the Americas.

In January 2011, the WHSRN Hemispheric Council designated Humedales Orientales de Chiloé as a WHSRN Site of Hemispheric Importance. This wetland system is located in the Lake Region of Chiloé Province, and includes the Municipalities of Dalcahue, Quinchao, Curaco de Velez, and Castro. The area contains 10 wetlands—Curacao, Pullao, Chullec, Rilán, San Juan, Castro, Putemún, Teguel, Nercón and Quinchao—. The WHSRN designation is the result of work led by the Center for the Study and Conservation of Natural Heritage (CECPAN by its Spanish acronym), with the valuable support of various local, provincial, and regional stakeholders who, as a whole, made it possible to realize this important achievement for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats in Chiloé. Partners include municipalities, jurisdictional public service entities, and Regional government institutions, along with neighborhood associations, local groups, federations, schools, and educational establishments, among others.

A coalition of national and international organizations is currently implementing the Chiloé Migratory Shorebird Conservation Plan, developed with support from the Packard Foundation. The coalition includes CECPAN, Manomet Inc., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, National Audubon Society, and Conservación Marina (Marine Conservation, a local NGO). Guided by the Conservation Plan and in coordination with decision makers and local communities, partners will implement various activities such as a social marketing campaign, festivals and fairs, programs to strengthen local capacity and education, good governance workshops, initiatives that connect conservation with local development, and monitoring of shorebird populations in the area.