About the trip

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN CHILE -- ENV 482

Deb Gallagher (deb.gallagher@duke.edu)
Bob Healy (healy@duke.edu)

Sherri Nevius (sherri.nevius@duke.edu)

In this 8-day field course (March 7 – 14, 2009) we will provide an overview of international sustainable development in Chile, while focusing on environmental management at the government level, sustainable forestry and agriculture, fisheries, wineries and eco-tourism.

The trip is preceded by course meetings held via webconference to discuss such topics as the Chilean economy and government,  forestry, salmon aquaculture, ecotourism, and wineries.

While in Chile, a portion of the trip will be in Santiago where we will meet with the US Embassy, The Commission Nacional del Medio Ambiente (CONAMA is the state's Department of the Environment, http://www.conama.cl/), Larrain Vial (a large Chilean investment company, www.larrainvial.com/), the president of Fundacion Terram (a non-profit with an objective to generate new proposals for the sustainable development of Chile, http://www.terram.cl/), Colbun (one of the largest Chilean power companies, http://www.colbun.cl/), and former Chilean President Dr. Ricardo Lagos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Lagos). Dr. Lagos is a Duke Alumni (Class of '62) and is the current Special Envoy on Climate Change for the U.N. In addition, the Duke Alumni Association and AmCham Chile (www.amchamchile.cl/) have graciously offered to co-host a Duke Alumni dinner for our participants, Duke Alumni in Chile, and local business leaders.

Late Tuesday, we will travel southeast (60 kilometers) to the Andes Mountains in Cajón del Maipo (Maipo Canyon) to stay at Cascada de las Animas (http://www.cascada.net/index_ing/index.php). Cascada de las Animas is an eco-tourism resort owned and operated by Astorga-Moreno family and has been in operation since 1840. While at Cascada de las Animas, we will meet with representatives of Fundacion Terram to discuss the salmon aquaculture industry. We will also visit the winery of Concha y Toro, located at the foot of the Andes (http://www.conchaytoro.com/). Concha y Toro is Latin America’s major wine exporter. We will learn about the history and business of wine-making in Chile, along with how Concha y Toro incorporates sustainable business practices into their business.

At the end of the trip we will travel south of Santiago to Paine to visit David del Curto S.A., a leader in fresh fruit exports (http://www.daviddelcurto.com), to tour a fruit processing plant. We will then head three hours south of Santiago to Talca to visit Forestal Mininco to visit a plantation and learn about Chile’s forestry operations (www.mininco.cl/ingles). Mininco belongs to the CMPC holding, one of the most important industrial and forest groups of Chile and Latin America. Operations include foresting development, conservation sawmill and remanufacturing industry, and cellulose plants.