By Diego Tabilo (ELP 2019) | Ingeniero en Recursos Naturales

Loss of biodiversity, consequences of climate change, water scarcity, desertification, pollution, over exploitation of resources, are just a few of the problems that we face daily. Many of them started a steep curve of growth a couple of centuries ago, and in the process, many people have spoken up and done something to change the situation and convince others to do the same. We—participants of the Beahrs Environmental Leadership program at Berkeley—are humbly trying to stand up and do something. Contributing with a little grain of sand to have a better environment for everyone, is all we want to do.

It is clear to me that the keys to achieve a greater impact while implementing all the solutions that theoretically exist for many of the environmental challenges we face are education and inspiration.

Have you heard the concept of “the web of life?” In simple words, it is the idea that any particular ecosystem is comprised of all the living organisms and the non-living matter in it and how they all depend on each other to keep a balance that ensures their survival.

I think that we need to continue studying this “web of life” in order to create better solutions for the most challenging global environmental issues, but at the same time, it is even more important to continue developing and strengthening what I similarly call the “web of inspiration.” I am sure that if we do more systematic research in different disciplines, we will find surprising intersection of different people and how they influence and inspire each other to progress collective knowledge and action.

I have worked in biodiversity conservation since I graduated from university, and today—with Fundación Tierra Austral—I work to protect privately-owned lands that have high ecological value in Chile. Protecting land for people and nature is something that excites me because there is a lot to do, so I will pick this topic to illustrate why I think that a “web of inspiration” has been tremendously important to the success stories we have today in land conservation.

I’ll start with my idol Humboldt (1769–1859) whose story has always resonated with me because of the cold oceanic current named after him that goes all the way from the South Pole to Ecuador, along the coasts of Chile and Perú. I learned about the life of this German explorer and intellectual thanks to Andrea Wulf’s book, “The Invention of Nature” (which I highly recommend). It is simply amazing to me how many people were silently influenced by Humboldt, one of the first naturalists of the world. He traveled intensively in Latin America, Russia, and North America, and was one of the first people who scientifically and artistically documented the “web of life,” as well as ecological patterns around the world which were the foundations for many future discoveries (including Darwin’s theories!). In addition to influencing Jefferson in the US and Bolivar in Latin America      to undertake a series of historic social reforms and movements, Humboldt was one of the key people who influenced the way Thoureau viewed his world in Massachusett through his writings.

Thoureau (1817-1862) became one of the first environmentalists in the US, and, as a poet and philosopher, his writings on natural history anticipated what we now know as ecology and environmentalism. He even observed how the climate was changing in his surroundings due to environmental degradation and how this accelerated the degradation process in a vicious cycle. A few decades later, almost 3,000 miles away, on the other side of the US, John Muir arose as a new environmental leader in San Francisco.

Muir (1838-1914) never met Thoureau, but he read his books and referenced him in many of his writings. Muir was also a naturalist and explorer who fought to protect wilderness areas of the west of the US. It was because of him that president Roosevelt decided to provide federal protection to Yosemite, making it the second National Park of the US. He also founded the Sierra Club, one of the first environmental organizations in the world, right after the foundation of two other conservation organizations, the Appalachian Mountain Club and the Trustees of Reservation. It seems that we can infer that California and Massachusetts are the states where environmentalism was born.

To me, it is fascinating to realize how these people––Humboldt, Thoureau and Muir––without meeting, but rather intellectually and emotionally connecting, could pave the way for the beginning of what we would later call environmentalism. Thi accumulated knowledge and inspiration definitely contributed to places such as California and Massachusetts, where regulatory and non-regulatory initiatives have served as a model for other regions in the world.

Now, let’s move 6,300 miles south to Chilean Patagonia and around 45 years ahead. Douglas Tompkins, a young US-American man travelled with his friend Yvon Chouinard from California to Patagonia, in search of      self-discovery and eye-opening experiences that would change their lives. The goal? Climbing the Fitz Roy, a mountain on the border of Argentina and Chile in the Southern Patagonia Ice Field.

Who would have known that this experience was extremely relevant not only for the creation of their businesses (the clothing brands Esprit and The North Face founded by Tompkins, and Patagonia founded by Chouinard), but also relevant in shaping two of the most important philanthropists for land conservation and environmental activism?

Can you guess who were among Tompkins’ top admired writers? Thoureau and Muir once again.

This source of reflection and inspiration helped Doug (as their friends called him) to found a series of environmental organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Chile to follow different missions, all of them to ultimately protect Patagonia forever and put it on the radar of the world as one of the last wild places on Earth. Despite his death in a kayaking accident in 2015, his legacy, made possible by his wife Kris McDivitt Tompkins (former CEO of the brand Patagonia), includes the biggest donation of private lands to a government in history in order to create the current Route of the Parks of Patagonia. It protects more than 11.5 million hectares (almost 3 times the size of Switzerland) through a network of National Parks.

The story of Tompkins is fascinating and inspiring, so I really recommend watching this short film about his life and legacy here!

I am just normal Chilean citizen, but I feel so touched by the influence of the people that I have talked about and by the sense of urgency to protect more land while also accommodating sustainable land use that I will do my best to contribute with my grain of sand to the conservation of Chile’s most threatened ecosystems, which today are not in Patagonia but in central Chile’s Mediterranean region.

I hopefully inspire some people in the way, because as I said, by learning from history, accumulated knowledge and inspiration have made a big difference.