page_title: Alto Loa National Reserve
section_title: Origins of Alto Loa
hierarchical_section_title: Alto Loa National Reserve / Origins of Alto Loa
caption_attribution_description: Español: Río Loa, Chiu Chiu, Chile English: Loa River, Chiu Chiu, Chile
context_page_description: Alto Loa National Reserve is a Protected Area located in the province of El Loa, Antofagasta region, Chile. Announced in 2002 and created in 2005, it is Chile's largest natural reserve.
context_section_description: The reserve was officially created in 2005 following 6 years of negotiation between the Regional Department of Agriculture (Secretaría Regional Ministerial de Agricultura), the Quechua community of Ollagüe, and the mining companies Codelco and SQM. The purpose of the reserve is to protect an area of 300 thousand hectares known as Alto Loa, that extends from the border with Bolivia in the northeast to the salt flats of Ascotán and Carcote in the southeast.
  Large sections of the park, were previously given as concessions to mining companies and native communities for the exploitation of minerals and water. In order to form the natural reserve, the government had to reach an agreement with all concession holders.  The agreement allows the mining companies to make use of the permits granted before the creation of the natural reserve while allowing the creation of a protected area for more than 250 vegetal species and 70 animal species.
  The native communities
  The "Consejo de Pueblos Atacameños" (Council of Atacama Peoples), the organization that represents the Atacama and Quechua people of the region, has been in constant dialogue with the government and the mining companies to highlight concerns about the mining work and the lack of protection of the wetlands, a flamingo nesting area. There are three species nesting in the reserve: the Chilean, James and Andean flamingos. But the community has also communicated their satisfaction with what has been achieved in terms of ethno tourism. Although the reserve is administrated by CONAF, the Quechua community in Ollagüe, a town 205 km northeast of Calama, is responsible for developing tourism in the reserve, protecting its natural and cultural heritage, and administrating the land that they claim as their own. Similar examples of native communities successfully running tourism efforts in the region's natural areas include Valle de la Luna, San Pedro de Atacama.
caption: Loa River near the city of Chiu Chiu.
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