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The Coastal Range - 10th Region
The Coastal Range of the 10th Region contains one of the last remaining areas of native coastal forest in the Valdivian Ecoregion. This area is characterized by a great diversity of plant and animal species, thanks in part to its pristine state of conservation as well as to the influence of the Pacific Ocean.
A forest facing extinction
The forests of the Coastal Range in the 10th Region currently cover over 400,000 hectares, and are threatened by activities such as the construction of the Coastal Highway, substitution by pine and eucalyptus plantations, and the extraction of firewood. Despite the biological significance of these forest ecosystems, only 2% of the Coastal Range is officially protected in the 10th Region, a sharp contrast to the Andes Range where 98% of the remaining native forest is protected.
Conservation efforts
In an effort to protect this region, the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and other national and international organizations have acquired 60,000 hectares of forest in the Chaihuín and Venecia properties, located 32 km southeast of Valdivia. This purchase puts an end to one of the largest substitution projects in the region, thus ensuring the long-term viability of the species and ecological processes housed there.
