Rewilding Chile, formerly known as Tompkins Conservation Chile, is a nonprofit foundation that carries on the legacy of Douglas and Kristine Tompkins. In the early 1990s, Doug and Kris decided to dedicate their lives to conserving the beauty and biodiversity of the Chilean Patagonia, with the goal of countering both climate change and the species extinction crisis.
Three decades later, Rewilding Chile continues working toward this vision. We believe that without complex, healthy ecosystems––and all their species, relationships, and intricate processes––there’s little chance that either the human or non-human world can flourish.
To effectively confront the largest loss of biodiversity in history resulting from human actions, we must make a massive shift and return both land and water back to the wildlife that calls these spaces home. We must also acknowledge that all life forms deserve our respect.
Our future, and the future of millions of other species, depends on the actions we take today. It’s time to reconnect with nature, protect and restore wild spaces, and foster harmonic models of development that promote healthy, vibrant, and beautiful environments for all of earth’s living communities.
Foto: Antonio Vizcaíno
A healthy planet with complete ecosystems where all life forms thrive and communities develop in harmony with nature.
To encourage Rewilding as a holistic conservation strategy in the Route of Parks of Patagonia in order to counter the species extinction crisis and the climate crisis, by creating National Parks and marine parks, restoring ecosystems, and strengthening local communities’ connection with nature.
Beauty is an expression of vitality, and it has the power to sustain and enhance our lives. Beauty calls us to protect and restore the natural systems we all depend on. The desire to witness beauty is an intrinsic impulse linked to our desire to foster a quality life for the generations to come.
The wellbeing and prosperity of human and non-human life on Earth has value in and of itself, independent of any utility for human purposes. Humans aren’t Earth’s rulers––we’re simply one piece of a larger community of life.
There’s no hope for reversing the eco-social crisis unless we abandon humanism and adopt an eco-centric vision of the world. It’s unethical for humans to cause the extinction of other species. This new peace treaty between human and non-human life means that humans must promote an environment of respect, trust, and collaboration between different life communities.
We believe in the delicate connection between the planet and humanity, the intricate web of life, and the concept of one health.
The current human impact in the non-human world is already excessive, and the situation continues to worsen. Our impact in the biosphere must be reduced drastically. Anyone who understands this is morally obligated to participate––directly or indirectly––in the effort to make these much-needed changes.
The US conservationists Kristine Tompkins and Douglas Tompkins (1943–2015) achieved an unprecedented philanthropic triumph. After just over a quarter century of working toward the creation of National Parks and the recuperation of wildlife and natural habitats, Kristine and Douglas helped protect more than 14 million acres of land in Chile and Argentina, in collaboration with both country’s governments and with other philanthropists.
Our teamwork with organizations from around the world has been crucial for both the development and impact of our projects.
