Yellowstone, Acadia, Redwood. These and other U.S. national parks boast stunning landscapes, remarkable wildlife, and natural wonders. But did you know that the United States isn’t the only country preserving land this way? About 100 countries—from Algeria to Zimbabwe—have national parks.
Wilderness lands conserved as parks are a sign of national pride. The world’s oldest is Bogd Khan Uul in Mongolia. It was founded in 1783—more than 100 years before Yellowstone in the United States.
Two of the world’s newest national parks are in Chile. The Chilean government dedicated Pumalin and Patagonia National Parks earlier this year. The parks became possible in part because of a gift from an American couple. It was the largest private donation of land ever given to a country.
For 25 years, Doug and Kristine Tompkins bought up millions of acres in Patagonia, a region straddling southern Chile and Argentina. At first, their purchases aroused suspicion. Many believed the Tompkinses planned on stealing water and other resources. But Doug Tompkins promised he would someday return the land to be preserved as nature reserves or parks.
Doug was co-founder of the North Face and Esprit clothing companies. He died in a 2015 kayaking accident. Since then, Kristine Tompkins has worked to make her husband’s vision a reality. She donated one million acres for the new parks.
Conservation could be one way to live out God’s Genesis 1 mandate. God made humans to be good stewards of the Earth. It’s only when people “worship the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25) that their service—however well-intentioned—becomes corrupt.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet says her government will donate another nine million acres. She calls these gifts “an invitation to imagine other ways . . . of using natural resources without preying on them.” Combined, the gifts create two new parks and expand others to form a “Route of Parks”—17 parks spanning more than 1,500 miles. The protected area is three times the size of the United States’ Yosemite and Yellowstone national parks together—or about the size of Switzerland.
The parks will safeguard thousand-year-old forests, unique animal and plant species, and one of the purest water reservoirs in the world, says Rodrigo Catalan. He is a conservationist in Chile.
But the new parks also present challenges, including how they will be funded and how they will benefit local communities. Catalan says conservationists must ask, “How are we going to manage and finance this great legacy?”
