Filantropía Cortés Solari and Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) will hold the fourth edition of Mission Patagonia at the Melimoyu Reserve (44°S) in March, consolidating an international network of leaders to implement effective conservation from the territory.

Amidst global commitments such as the 30×30 target and the recent high seas biodiversity treaty, the challenge is no longer just declaring protected areas, but implementing conservation models that work in practice. In this scenario, an unusual actor is beginning to occupy a more visible space: private philanthropy.

Filantropía Cortés Solari (FCS), through Fundación MERI, and in collaboration with Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) from the United States, will hold the fourth edition of Mission Patagonia 2026 between March 4 and 12 at the Reserva Elemental Melimoyu, in Northern Patagonia, Chile.

The program will bring together six strategic leaders with influence in academic and scientific fields, as well as international conservation networks, who will actively participate in the consolidation of an International Network of Ambassadors for Effective Conservation. Each participant will assume the commitment to promote the model within their respective institutions, integrate the territorial approach into academic programs, and act as a node for international amplification.

In this context, Mission Patagonia 2026 is not proposed as a conventional academic instance, but rather as an immersive experience of territorial analysis, strategic dialogue, and methodological validation of the FCS Effective Conservation Model.

From educational experience to international platform

Starting this year, a transition from Mission Patagonia to Misión Elemental will begin, reflecting the consolidation of a program that is no longer limited to an experience in Patagonia, but covers the three Reservas Elementales (Elemental Reserves) of Filantropía Cortés Solari. The initiative was born as an evolution of Mission Patagonia and will integrate three strategic territories of the country—Atacama (22°S), Cajón del Maipo (33°S), and Northern Patagonia (44°S)—conceived as living laboratories where a multidimensional conservation approach is tested. The program marks the consolidation of a North-South alliance that seeks to internationalize an “Effective Conservation” model developed from Chile that articulates science, education, and territorial management.

The alliance with AUI, an organization that coordinates high-level scientific networks in the United States, strengthens the transfer of knowledge and ties with international universities and research centers.

For Francisca Cortés Solari, executive president of Filantropía Cortés Solari: “The climate crisis also requires training leaders capable of implementing concrete solutions from the territory, for the territory. Our long-standing alliance with AUI strengthens a shared vision: connecting science, education, and effective conservation from the Global South to the world.”

For her part, Yasmín Catricheo, Principal Specialist in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Education at AUI, points out that “training in effective conservation requires integrating applied science, critical thinking, and territorial experience. Programs like this allow connecting research, education, and concrete action, strengthening an international leadership network with real impact.”

In a global scenario where the discussion focuses on how to make environmental commitments measurable and sustainable, the bet from southern Chile aims to demonstrate that conservation is not sectoral or declarative, but territorial, multidimensional, and with a public vocation.

País Circular