Port of Call LAST UPDATE April 26, 2009
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March 13, 2009 Punta Arenas, Chile – Hiking Through Patagonia, Participants Learn the Lessons of the Forest
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Guide and Omora representative Cristobal Pizarro shows participants a colony of miniature mushrooms
After leaving the frigid land of Antarctica, Peace Boat sailed along the Beagle Channel through the geographical region called Patagonia. On both sides of the ship, participants could see towering mountains topped with beryl-blue glacial ice melting into rushing waterfalls. The majestic sight inspired many participants to explore Patagonia more deeply when the ship docked in Punta Arenas, Chile. One Peace Boat group visited the University of Magellan to learn about Omora, an organization that creates “living laboratories” by forming land reserves. “The purpose of a reserve is not to separate or build a fence between the nature and humans,” but to preserve nature so humans can benefit from it in a respectful way, said Cristobal Pizarro, a representative of Omora who guided Peace Boat participants on a hike through Patagonia. One of the organization’s biggest projects is Omora Ethnobotanical Park, where people can study the local ecosystem and biology from a scientific perspective. “We can study there and then educate people who have no idea about the area’s biodiversity,” Mr Pizarro said. “We believe nature and people have a long history and are related. They shouldn’t be separated.”
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The moss known as “old man’s beard”
Mr Pizarro led Peace Boat participants on a two-hour hike through a Patagonian forest protected by the Chilean government. Along the way, participants learned about the intricate ecosystem of mosses and tiny, thumbnail-sized flowers—a side of nature completely opposite in scale from the mountains of the Beagle Channel, but just as fascinating for their beauty and complexity. At first glance, the relationship between the plants in the forest is invisible. But the ecosystem that has been developing over the last few millennia is cleverer than any man-made machine. Participants were amazed to learn about the role played by a type of moss ubiquitous in the forest, a shaggy, airy plant called “old man’s beard” due to its scraggly appearance. The moss is draped over the trees in the forest, hanging off branches like fringe on a woman’s dress. When the salty breeze blows in from the nearby ocean, the sea salt sticks to the dangling moss. When enough salt accumulates, the moss becomes heavy and falls to the forest floor. The salt and the disintegrating plant add nutrients to the soil that trees suck up through their roots, making them grow bigger and stronger, and providing more tree surface for new moss to cling to.
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Trees cut down 40 years ago stick up like gravestones in Magellanes Forest
Another fascinating example of the forest’s ecosystem is a miniature plant called batraña, which produces tiny buds that look like little red apples. When the forest becomes too humid, the buds act like sponges, sucking up excess moisture from the air. When the forest becomes too dry, the buds release the moisture, ultimately regulating the humidity of the forest. As Mr Pizarro pointed out, the mutually beneficial relationship of plants in the Patagonian forest are fine examples of how humans and the environment can thrive together, each taking what it needs from the other without inflicting irreversible damage. But most humans have not caught onto this idea, and the forest still bears scars from the excessive logging that took place 40 years ago. In patches that should be shady and lush with life, stark tree stumps stick out among bushes and weeds. Since the forest was put under protection of the government, the plant life has been slowly growing back. But because this area of southern Chile is so cold, it takes decades for the forest to recover. The symbiotic relationships of the “old man’s beard” moss and the batraña plant have developed over several hundred years, and it will likely take that long for the parts of the forest damaged by deforestation to revitalize.
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Tres Puntas wetlands and the encroaching city of Punta Arenas just beyond
The deforestation occurred a long time ago, but most people still have not learned from the resulting damage. Another area of Patagonia is now experiencing a crucial moment as the city of Punta Arenas decides whether it will be destroyed or preserved. The Tres Puntas wetlands, as the area is known, is right in the middle of an area of the city that is slated to become the city’s new commercial center. Large buildings loom just beyond the marsh, and every month new construction creeps closer and closer. Already, Tres Puntas has experienced irreversible damage, as chemicals from a local construction site were dumped into the wetlands. Though not as visually striking as the mountains and forests of Patagonia, the marsh is an extremely important biological site. It’s home to sixty species of birds, some of which can be found only here. Many of the birds do not migrate, living in the marsh year-round. If the wetlands are destroyed, these birds will almost certainly be lost forever. Recently, a road was built that cuts directly through the wetlands, a discouraging sign for environmental scholars as they try to convince developers of the area’s importance. But Peace Boat’s guide, Mr Pizarro, sees at least one benefit to the road: “Before the road was built through the wetlands, people didn’t really know about the area. But now people are becoming concerned,” he said. In fact, true to Omora’s philosophy of integrating the protection of nature with economic development, Mr Pizarro believes that both the Tres Puntas wetlands and the commercial zone can exist. “It is possible to keep the wetlands in the middle of the city—it would be very unique,” he said. In the 21st century, human development is unstoppable. But with some creative thinking like Omora’s and some inspiration from the symbiotic plants of the forest, it is possible that development for humans does not necessarily mean destruction for nature.