
Chile unveils Patagonian Route of Parks hiking trail - rch
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45663960
======
snowwrestler
This is great. What the Tompkins did was very controversial at the time (rich
white couple from the U.S. buying up a ton of Chilean land) but I'm hopeful
that over time, Chileans will come to appreciate the park and the opportunity
to preserve and enjoy it.

When Denali National Park was first created, most Alaskan locals hated the
idea. Today it is quite popular in the state and Alaskans are generally proud
of it.

~~~
sandov
>rich white couple from the U.S. buying up a ton of Chilean land

The "white" part is unnecessary, as we don't tend to racially classify our
population, or we don't use it as a hate tool as in the US, we have better
ways to hate each other: Income level, political ideology, etc.

~~~
wahern
I have a passing outsider's knowledge of Chilean history and I think it's
worth noting that Chile stands out among South American nations in how
thoroughly it eradicated and assimilated the indigenous populations.

Once upon a time (even up to the latter part of the 20th century) that would
have been considered by most in the West[1] as a laudable achievement, and in
Chile it still largely is considered so, AFAIU. Not the eradication of
indigenous people's per se (which is conveniently glossed over or minimized),
but in the social equality wrought by the strong cultural homogenization
through waves of immigration.

But the West in the 21st century has put much more value on diversity and on
preserving cultural and ethnic identities, calling into question the morality
of Chilean national identity. In other Andean nations skin tone is still very
much a thing; not necessarily negative--i.e. being more brown isn't
necessarily negative--but nonetheless something that can figure prominently in
both social and friendly discourse.

Just thought I'd mention it. Not trying to cast value judgments, but it's
worthwhile to note that Chile is very much in a different place than the rest
of the West in how it contextualizes these issues.

[1] Chile being politically and culturally Western no less than France or the
U.S.

~~~
torstenvl
> _But the West in the 21st century has put much more value on diversity and
> on preserving cultural and ethnic identities..._

Only minority identities, and only the approved ones. The West's "noble
savage" narratives are almost as offensive as how it treats Wallonia or the
Basques. And America loves you if you're Kurdish, but if you're a Yezidi woman
they'll prosecute you for being a sex slave (forced concubinage to Da'esh
apparently counts as material support of terrorism).

~~~
rexpop
This is a horrific thing you have just described. Where is it documented how
Yezidi women are prosecuted for supporting terrorism?

~~~
torstenvl
The case below isn't a prosecution, but a deportation of a Salvadoran slave.
Forced to serve terrorists under threat of death = material support for
terrorism. One of the experts consulted in the preparation of the article
appears to have speculated that Yezidis would be treated similarly, but I
can't find an actual example of that yet.

[https://theintercept.com/2018/06/09/immigration-terrorism-
pr...](https://theintercept.com/2018/06/09/immigration-terrorism-prosecutions-
material-support-united-states/)

~~~
InitialLastName
So what you're saying is that you fabricated a horrific example that you can't
back up with any information for to make your point?

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gregwebs
Torres Del Paine is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I traveled
through much of Chile, and if I could do it again I would spend more time in
Patagonia. The Argentinian side is also supposed to be spectacular, and would
make a great addition to such a trail.

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gkanai
I volunteered for Tompkins in '94 (?) when I was in university and had a 3
month block to donate to his efforts. He had a friend and I help him survey a
portion of land that he ended up purchasing. I never went back to see the land
or him before he passed. I do want to go back though.

------
jashkenas
Some corrections to this misleading article:

It's not a hiking trail. It's, in part, a "rebranding" of the existing
Carretera Austral (a previously dirt highway built under the orders of Augusto
Pinochet, now partially paved), combined with a tour ship cruise (between
Tortel and Puerto Natales), and then a "rebranding" of Highway 9 down to Punta
Arenas, and perhaps another cruise from there to Cabo de Hornos.

There is a Sendero de Chile (Chilean Trail) project, started by the government
in 2000, which would have been a hiking trail that extends the full length of
Chile. But that's a different plan, and has unfortunately been stalled...

The big Tompkins/Buckley bought-and-donated National Park, Corcovado, was
established in 2005, and still has no access to the public available: there
are no roads there, and no trails.

In the newer Tompkins park, Yendegaia, the Chilean government has begun to
build a road through it. Access to the public is still limited.

His first park, Pumalín, was operated as a publicly-accessible private nature
reserve from 1991, when Tompkins purchased the initial estate, until two years
after his death, in 2017, when his widow finally turned over the reserve to
the national park service.

The "Route of Parks" rebranding "es una propuesta de Tompkins Conservation"
(is an initiative of the Tompkins Conservation foundation).

In my opinion, although it's wonderful what the end result of the
Tompkins/Buckley efforts to conserve this land has been — let's not ignore the
ugliness of how it happened. Wealthy American businessmen buying large swaths
of the most spectacular parts of a South American country, using them as a
private retreat during their lifetimes, and then turning them over
posthumously, is not really a model to be idealized.

To flip the scenario: How would you feel if Jack Ma had bought Yosemite in
1991, set up the valley as a private retreat, lived down in the Ahwahnee until
his death, and had his widow donate it to the federal government?

 _Edit:_

For more context, two of the best-written, most balanced, English-language
pieces on the Tompkins legacy and controversies are both from the Atlantic:

Eden: A Gated Community (1999)
[https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/06/eden-a-...](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/06/eden-
a-gated-community/304919/)

The Entrepreneur Who Wants to Save Paradise (2014)
[https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/09/the-
ent...](https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/09/the-entrepreneur-
who-wants-to-save-paradise/380116/)

~~~
ruggeri
"""

To flip the scenario: How would you feel if Jack Ma had bought Yosemite in
1991, set up the valley as a private retreat, lived down in the Ahwahnee until
his death, and had his widow donate it to the federal government?

"""

If the government had never set aside Yosemite as a park, and it had been
private land that Jack Ma bought, I would be thankful for him to donate it.

It would be terrible conservation policy to rely on private individuals to
donate land. But if people do, I would be thankful.

The fact that Jack Ma is a Chinese national feels like an irrelevant
distraction. Why would that affect my gratitude?

~~~
rexpop
Jack Ma's Chinese nationality speaks to his alienation from the needs,
desires, traditions, and sovereignty from the local flora, fauna, and peoples
indigenous to (or settled in) the region.

~~~
thucydidesofusa
But his Chinese nationality doesn't preclude him from being a good steward of
the land.

Or is there some rule about who can tend to what land beyond the legal issues
of permission and authority?

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jherdman
On the topic of parks, "American History Tellers"
([https://wondery.com/shows/american-history-
tellers/](https://wondery.com/shows/american-history-tellers/)) has an
excellent series on the history of parkland in the USA. I highly recommend it,
and the rest of their series.

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Dowwie
It's really sad that some of the most beautiful places in the U.S. are among
the hardest hit for climate change. Montana and California are burning,
annually. The National Parks are not what they once were and seem to be
disappearing at an alarming rate. I wonder how climate change is affecting
southern South America?

~~~
dr_zoidberg
This is probably the most striking example:

* [https://www.enel.com/media/news/d/2016/12/climate-change-exp...](https://www.enel.com/media/news/d/2016/12/climate-change-exposed-by-glaciers)

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upsala_Glacier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upsala_Glacier)

------
CodeSheikh
Good for humans bad for animals. Hopefully Chilean government is as aggressive
about preserving the wildlife as about tourism.

~~~
DamnYuppie
Can you elaborate further on this?

In the US we have many parks that have high tourists rates yet also have large
and healthy animal populations.

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baud147258
Regarding the Southern parts of Patagonia, I've found the Who Will Remember
the People... book by Jean Raspail to be a haunting account of the area and
the people living there, before their disapearance.

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joncrane
Good article.

Is anyone else scratching their head at the exclusion of the Pacific Coast
Trail from the list of "Other famous long-distance trails?"

