The project carried out by the San Ignacio del Huinay Foundation falls under the Endesa Natural Surroundings programme and covers an area of 34,000 hectares in the Coumau Fjord north of the Chilean Patagonia. Its objective is to discover new species and ecosystems, and study how these ecosystems operate from an ecological perspective at regional and ecosystemic level. It is one of Endesa's most representative biodiversity projects.
The San Ignacio del Huinay Foundation is a private, non-profit foundation. It was created in 1998 by Endesa Chile and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso to preserve the natural heritage of Huinay by means of scientific research and sustainable development.
The foundation set up a research centre in the coastal area of Huinay comprising laboratories and rooms to accommodate scientists and visitors from all around the world. There are labs, scuba diving equipment, a weather station – everything required to conduct research in the different study areas, i.e. marine, plant and animal life. The area is home to a small community comprising several families who mainly make a living from fishing.
The base's main achievements include having the Comau Fjord adjacent to the Huinay territory declared a marine and coastal protected area, thereby limiting human activity in the area to preserve the natural surroundings.
Vegetation is on a slope from the sea up to 1,700m, where the last of the upper Andean flora survive: squat formations of lenga and Antarctic beech, with coihue trees and escallonia plants, in addition to cypress trees and thousand-year-old Andean larch trees, a species close to extinction that has been declared a natural monument.
Huinay boasts a highly diverse animal life. Noteworthy to date are the inventories of aquatic invertebrates – more than 40 species have been identified for science – night butterflies, beetles and birds. This work led to the publication of Fauna bentónica marina de la Patagonia chilena, a book with a classification of all the species found. One species is a cold water coral that bears the company's name: Tethocyathus endesa.
Since its inauguration, the Huinay Foundation has contributed to scientific and environmental progress, hosting six scientific expeditions and 55 research projects. It has also helped the development of the Huinay people with educational workshops and applied training courses, the supply of medical services, a dental clinic, electricity and communications.
See Huinay pictures (Biodiversity Album)