Real estate interests versus conservation goals - The implantation of second-homes in the dunes of the Chilean coastal cordillera, Región de Valparaíso

Abstract

Conflicts between protected area goals and those of other actors with land use plans are quite common. Normally the actors are farmers, concerned for their production methods, poor people searching for land or food, large industrial or hydropower businesses. The case is different for the dunes of Concón, located in the tongues of the Central-Chilean coastal cordillera. Large real estate companies are implementing their high-rise development projects near or even within protected areas for second-home owners. The consequences are significant: the territory of the dunes has been minimized, endangered species of flora and fauna have disappeared, the ecosystem itself is losing its functions. At the same time, the new inhabitants do not integrate into the community. They feel the loss of environmental quality that attracted them in the first place, but they feel no responsibility for that loss.