The activity was attended by the High-Level Climate Action Champions of COP 25 and 26, Gonzalo Muñoz and Nigel Topping, in addition to representatives of the Lickan Antay people, authorities and local tourism.
The activity began with a welcome from Explora CEO Gonzalo Undurraga and then continued with the presentation of the world’s climate challenges in the context of COP26 with Nigel Topping, while Gonzalo Muñoz referred to Chile’s commitment to the climate emergency, both from the public as well as private perspectives.
Lastly, Helen Kouyoumdjian, Executive Vice President of Fedetur, addressed the challenge that this issue poses for the tourism sector – given its urgent need for reactivation – with a special focus on sustainability.
Different issues related to sustainability and climate change were presented during the talk, which was attended by Gonzalo Muñoz, representatives of the Atacameño People and tourism and environmental authorities from San Pedro de Atacama.
Over 20 people from San Pedro de Atacama attended the activity, where they were able to talk and discuss the main problems caused by climate change. Among the guests, the Champions of the last two COPs mentioned how important it is to act urgently, decisively, and locally, assessing how each individual can contribute.
WORKING TOGETHER
Gonzalo Muñoz explained how important it is for there to be spaces for encounter and reflection such as the one being held, where a proactive conversation was generated that highlighted the importance of indigenous peoples and their role in the fight against climate change and for the protection of ecosystems, making it fundamental that their voices and proposals be heard to be able to work together. In addition, he stressed that this talk was a gift, inasmuch as it allowed hearing from people first-hand, and that it is important for more spaces like this one to be created, as climate change involves us all.
For his part, Nigel Topping highlighted that being able to go to explorations and walk around San Pedro during his stay at Explora in Atacama had allowed him to feel and experience what people feel, saying that “a report or Zoom meeting do not allow you to feel that, which is why I understand and share the Explora purpose to Go Deeper and get involved with places; it’s the only way to understand and make the necessary changes.”
To conclude, Erika Muñoz, president of the San Pedro de Atacama Tourism Corporation, mentioned how important it is today to educate people while simultaneously caring for the environment, which was underscored by Explora CEO Gonzalo Undurraga, who said that ” education and care are fundamental and that is what we do at Explora. We want to invite people to get to know these remote locations so they can fall in love with them and in that way encourage their protection.”
