Regarding Conservation Standards and Practices, our Center is making progress in the development of the best implementation models for different scenarios, with their corresponding differentiated standards.

In this sense, progress has been made in the development of Conservation Standards and Practices for differentiated scenarios since the flexibility and adaptability of the Conservation Right makes it essential to consider the individual factors of each particular case, which includes the consideration of the related social baseline, eco-systemic baseline, strategic management plans for long-term sustainability, medium and long-term financing strategies, among others.

In this context, the consideration of the ecosystem baseline assessment, the social baseline studies and the environmental patrimony strategic management plans are critical to prevent the implementation of traditional «Conservation Standards» that treat all cases under a uniform model that considers the Conservation Right only as an easement, lien or restriction -which instead of generating value involves a reduction in economic value-. These traditional models are normally related to the use of unique “Guarantors” or “Custodians” and are linked to donation-based philanthropic financing models -which have a limited time horizon-. This implies that such models concentrate the ‘normative power’ of the Conservation Right for the benefit of such Guarantor or Custodian entities, centralizing decision-making without further inclusion of the various interest groups and without necessarily being oriented towards social and economic sustainability of the project – thus generating uncertainty in its long-term sustainability.

The conservation standards and practices promoted by our foundation are aimed at implementing the ‘ecosystem approach’ of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the guidelines and categories of the Union for Conservation of Nature, as well as the Natural Capital Methodologies, in order to ensure:

(a) Eco-systemic adaptability of the legal governance structure put in place;
(b) Social adaptability and integration of the legal governance structure put in place;
(c) A consideration of the affirmative value of the environmental heritage;
(d) A legal governance structure that generates or facilitates the generation of autonomous economic flows from conservation initiatives.

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(a) Analysis of the conservation right in relation to the different standards and categories of conservation of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature), and in light of the norms of the Convention on Biological Diversity;

(b) Comparative assessment between the conservation right and the ‘conservation easements’ of the U.S. of North America and analysis of the problems of traditional conservation standards and practices originating in the Land Trust Alliance of the U.S. of America, that have been directly adopted in Chile by some conservation NGOs without considering the institutional differences of the different legal systems and regimes;

(e) Analysis of the conservation right in relation to international and local normative frameworks regarding wetlands;

(f) Analysis of the conservation right in relation to the markets and regulatory frameworks for compensation and mitigation of biodiversity;

(i) Review of the reflective potential of the institution in light of its implementation regarding different eco-systemic services;

(j) Economic analysis of the implications of the conservation right, in particular as a new solution to the tragedy of the commons.

Regulatory models are investigated on the basis of the analysis conducted since the decade of the 80s, regarding the limitations of the interventionist law, also called «regulatory law or welfare state».

That period also saw the emergence of the early works on possible post-regulatory models highlighting the «reflexive law» (Ref. Gunther Teubner), «responsive law» (Ref. Nonet-Selznick), «procedural law» (Ref. Wietholter, Habermas) «contextual law» (Ref. Wilke).

All these models are based on the recognition of the limitations of law to conduct «direct external control» of social activities, and particularly on the recognition of the limitations of regulatory law to process the growing «social complexity» of post-modern societies.

Another area of work, closely related to the previous one, refers to the conceptual and operational relationship between institutions of public and private law.

This is closely linked to:

1. the analysis of «public interest» elements of private law;
2. the analysis of the «implementation» («Enforcement») and «effectiveness» of the law.

In the area of biodiversity conservation, the relevance of this analysis is evident when it is noted that the institution of «ownership » has been the great mechanism for implementation of policies for biodiversity conservation and the Convention on Biological Diversity, in terms of «in-situ conservation.»

Directly related to the previous topic, our research is aimed at understanding the institution of property rights and In Rem Rights, in relation with the following topics:

The predominant theoretical notions of property rights as it has been received in civil law;
The foundations of the rights of access and control and the relationship between property rules and liability rules;
The rationale and scope of the «numerus clausus» of in rem rights;
The influence of economic analysis in the current notion of property rights;
The ability to design special in rem rights intended to generate links between various actors and social spheres – as a form of reflexive law.

Research is being conducted regarding the emergence of global environmental law -not state law- and particularly in the area of conservation law. This also includes studies on global constitutionalization, particularly from the perspective of socio-legal theory in terms of constitutionalization of normative structures of different global social spheres that influence or facilitate the unfolding of constitutional norms of the environment.

Research is being conducted regarding the emergence of constitutional normative structures, with particular emphasis on the role that the ‘ecosystems approach’ of the Convention on Biological Diversity can play in this context.
Research is also being conducted regarding the various discussions that have taken place at the Constitutional Convention of Chile (2020-2021), in relation to the theories on the commons, the ´Public Trust Doctrine´ and the ´Earth Rights´.