The Socioecological Restoration of the Maipo River Wetland Nature Sanctuary

Conservation and regeneration of the Maipo socioecosystem

In 2023, we were awarded a grant from the Valparaíso Regional Government to implement the “Comprehensive Socioecological Restoration Program for the Maipo River Wetland Nature Sanctuary.” This project aimed to reconnect communities with the wetland through a process of restoring three degraded hectares, establishing capacities and tools for the recovery of the site’s ecosystem services, addressing environmental issues and biodiversity loss.

Recognizing that the well-being of ecosystems depends on the relationship between inhabitants and their territories, this program also aimed to reconnect communities with the wetland, involving them across the board and providing them with tools to jointly recover three degraded hectares within the Sanctuary, in a process of eliminating threats and subsequently restoring the environment.

Documentary “Return to Living”

To record this program, we filmed the documentary “Return to Living: Restoring the Maipo River Wetland Nature Sanctuary” for two years.

Directed by renowned documentary filmmaker Mateo Barrenengoa, this Cosmos Foundation production combines stories from key players in the restoration—including park rangers, specialists, residents, senior citizens, and volunteers—with stunning images of the wetland’s birdlife and landscapes.

Making this documentary was a joint creative effort between the Cosmos Foundation team and Mateo, to reflect how collective effort can bring life back to an ecosystem that, until recently, was used as a landfill.

LIRH

Today, this program aims to become an Innovation Laboratory for the Restoration of Wetlands in the Central Coast of Chile (LIHR), with the installation of a nursery for the reproduction of native species and the development of new restoration techniques that can be replicated in other degraded ecosystems.