Partnerships

The Framework Collaboration Agreement established between Universidad de Chile’s Forestry and Nature Conservation School and Cruz de Piedra, is intended to promote research and outreach activities associated with the biodiversity to be found at the Cruz de Piedra Nature Sanctuary. Work related to the presence, abundance and distribution of terrestrial vertebrates, particularly guanaco, cordilleran parakeet, and carnivores, among others, and to the characterization of the flora and vegetation, and designed to support recovery activities for species of interest, such as the Olivillo Cordillerano (Kageneckia angustifolia), are currently being conducted under this agreement’s umbrella.

This university has funded two research projects, namely, the age, sedimentation environment and tectonic context of four Mesozoic formations - Río Colina from the Middle Jurassic, Río Damas from the Upper Jurassic, Lo Valdés from the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous, and Colimapu from the Upper Cretaceous.

The work carried out at the Cruz de Piedra Sanctuary was funded by the two following research projects: 

VRID Project 219.025.041-INV (2019—2020)
‍“Tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the proximal Neuquén basin during the Jurassic-Cretaceous era. Central Chile, 33°-35°S”, funded by Universidad de Concepción.

Fondecyt Regular Project 1200428 (2020–2025)
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“Tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the western Neuquén basin during the Early Jurassic-Late Cretaceous. Central Chile, 33°-35°S”, funded by ANID (National Agency for Investigation & Development).

Based on a collaboration agreement signed with Fundación Cruz de Piedra, the organization conducts conservation actions in some of the Sanctuary areas, such as wetland monitoring and active restoration of Andean mountain forest.

Restoration measures include core planting of native Andean tree and shrub species, such as Frangel (Kageneckia angustifolia), Quillay (Quillaja saponaria), Colliguay (Colliguaja odorífera), and Huingán (Schinus polígama), as well as preventing and/or reducing the degradation process of high Andean areas, overgrazed for decades and devastated by severe droughts.

Technology is being used to obtain key indicators for better wetland management though long-term monitoring. Sensors provide real-time information on temperature, water table, precipitation, among others. Wetlands are water reservoirs in the high mountain range.

Within the framework of the research projects being developed in the areas of paleo-ecology and paleo-climatology to discover the paleo-environmental conditions of the last thousands of years in the Andes of Central Chile and Norte Chico, this organization is working together with Cruz de Piedra Foundation to analyze the sediments of high altitude lakes and meadows, as well as landscape deposits and geoforms.

The Cruz de Piedra Nature Sanctuary shares a border with Argentina to the East that is crossed by an unpaved road known as “Paso Maipo”, guarded by Carabineros de Chile’s border police force, Avanzada Cruz de Piedra, fundamental for the surveillance of the country's sovereignty.

Likewise, the entity has become an active partner in the protection and care of the high Andean flora and fauna in the upper reaches of the Maipo River. Based on a mutual collaboration agreement established between the Cruz de Piedra Foundation and the Santiago Cordillera Prefecture, training on household waste management and wildlife monitoring has been provided, especially in the case of Guanaco, led by the Department of Forestry and Environmental Management of the Forestry and Nature Conservation School of Universidad de Chile.