Restoring the landscape to rebuild hope: Ecological recovery in Corcovado National Park after the Villa Santa Lucía Landslide
18/12/2025
On December 16, 2017, life changed forever in Villa Santa Lucía, a small town in the Los Lagos Region. That day, intense rainfall – 122 mm in just 24 hours – triggered the collapse of a rock wall onto a retreating glacier, generating an avalanche of mud, ice, and rock fragments that descended through the Burritos River basin.
The event, which originated about 10 kilometers from Villa Santa Lucía inside Corcovado National Park, mobilized – according to studies by the National Geology and Mining Service (SERNAGEOMIN) – nearly 7.2 million cubic meters of material, equivalent to the amount of water needed to fill 2,880 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The flow swept away vegetation, felled centuries-old trees, destroyed homes and infrastructure, and buried part of the town. The human, material, and environmental losses – including native forests – left a deep mark on the community.
After analyzing the causes of the disaster, the National Hydraulic Institute (INH) and the Photogrammetric Service of the Chilean Air Force (SAF) identified critical erosion areas caused by the loss of vegetation cover. They recommended restoring the forest cover – through ecological restoration with native species – as a key measure for stabilizing the terrain and restoring ecosystem functionality, thereby reducing the vulnerability of nearby communities to future landslides. This is where the +Bosques Project takes on a central role.
Six years after the catastrophe, within the framework of the National Strategy on Climate Change and Vegetation Resources (ENCCRV), led by the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF), and its +Bosques Project, the challenge was taken on to begin restoring the landscape affected by the landslide inside Corcovado National Park. Implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and financed through results-based payments for reduced emissions associated with the ENCCRV under the Green Climate Fund’s REDD+ pilot, the +Bosques Project began its activities in 2020. It directly supports the implementation of action measures such as restoration, reforestation, and sustainable forest management. To date, 970 territorial implementation projects have been carried out, covering 98% of rural municipalities in highly vulnerable regions of southern Chile (Maule, Ñuble, Biobío, La Araucanía, Los Ríos, and Los Lagos).
“The measures implemented [through the ENCCRV and +Bosques] in Corcovado National Park are far more than a reforestation effort. This is a strategic intervention, the beginning of a landscape restoration process that reestablishes ecological connectivity and strengthens the environmental services that directly benefit nearby communities. The approach is not only environmental – it is deeply human,” says Marco Inarejo Muñoz, Regional Director of CONAF Los Lagos.
The project, which concluded in September of this year, restored 88 hectares within the Protected Wild Area using native species. It also included erosion control works and the dissipation of surface runoff (fascines and brush barriers), along with the stabilization of slopes and secondary channels to prevent scouring and reinforce natural runoff regulation. Through these actions, the ENCCRV and +Bosques have directly contributed to accelerating the recovery of an ecosystem degraded by a natural disaster – allowing the native forest not only to regenerate but also to resume its role as a natural barrier against hazards and as a provider of essential ecological functions such as water retention and soil protection.
The restoration and erosion control process was complex. Terrain conditions varied, and the climate was unpredictable. Even so, the collaboration among institutions, professionals, and the community made it possible to complete the project successfully under the ENCCRV Benefit-Sharing System. “The technical team has turned each workday into an act of hope for the people of Villa Santa Lucía. The forest is not only growing back – it is protecting again,” says Hugo Castillo, Head of the Forests and Climate Change Program for CONAF in the Palena Province of the Los Lagos Region. “This project symbolizes the power of collaboration. Restoring the forest is also restoring the relationship between people and nature, recognizing that healthy ecosystems are our best protection against climate change. Each species planted is an investment in resilience and well-being,” adds Camilo Hernández, Implementation Specialist for the +Bosques Project, while touring the area.
The landslide – still vivid in the memory of local residents – directly affected around 310 hectares of native forest, composed mainly of Coihue, Tepa, and Mañío, along with other centuries-old species, some 400 to 500 years old. For the people of Villa Santa Lucía, the restoration of the native forest holds deep symbolic and emotional value. “This work is a way of bringing life back to the Villa. Seeing the forest grow again gives us hope,” says Gloria Suazo, President of the Villa Santa Lucía Neighborhood Council.
Today, where there was once mud and silence, new Coihues, Lumas, Ñirres, and Canelos are sprouting – early signs that the forest, and the community, are rising again. Where there was uncertainty, there is now certainty: the native forest is regenerating.