WHY CHILE AND CALIFORNIA?
Chile and California have remarkably similar landscapes - the Andes and the Sierra, central valleys, coastal mountains, Mediterranean climate zones, the Atacama and the Mojave deserts, essential fisheries and long Pacific coastlines. At similar latitudes South and North we are trans-hemispheric twins - all this in addition to long historic, economic and cultural ties. With the climate crisis upon us Chile and California are struggling with many of the same inter-related challenges.
We have experiences to share and much to learn from each other.
WHY THE CCCx?
The Chile-California Conservation Exchange exists to link people and organizations that are working to better understand and protect the environment in Chile and California. More specifically, the CCCX was created in 2017 to:
-
Help build more robust laws, practices and institutions for the conservation and protection of land and water, including the marine environment in Chile,
-
Expose California conservation leaders to conservation innovations taking place in Chile,
-
Foster ongoing, mutually rewarding collaborations among conservation leaders and practitioners engaged in the protection of land and water in Chile and California, and
-
Expand conservation philanthropy in Chile.
Environmental justice, threats to biodiversity and the climate crisis inform all our work.
CCCX TODAY
Together with partners, we connect Chileans and Californians by hosting visitors, organizing environmental workshops and providing limited numbers of plane tickets.
Since 2022 the CCCX has focused on producing in-person exchanges on a variety of environmental topics that address biodiversity and climate change. Participants in these exchanges include scientists, policy makers, academics and conservation professionals. Topics have included coastal planning, land protection, water policy, fisheries, marine protected areas, oceanography, fog, kelp, bird conservation and sea level rise.
We host delegations from Chile visiting California to study such topics and enable California and other experts to visit Chile to do the same. In addition to expertise, criteria for selecting the experts to travel are the interest of a partner agency, organization or institution to participate in the exchange and the prospect of ongoing collaboration.