The Fight for Indigenous Land in Chilean Atacama

I'm writing to you from Greece, where I'm traveling with the Adventure Travel Trade Association to learn about the Peloponnese, a lesser-known region of the country (more on this soon).

This is my fourth trip with this organization.

Last Fall, I traveled with ATTA to the Atacama Region in Chile, the least-visited part of this famous desert.

While San Pedro de Atacama in the north of the desert is experiencing over-tourism, local communities in this southern region actually want to attract more travelers.

Their goal? To reduce their reliance on mining as the primary source of revenue.

Chile holds the largest reserves of copper and lithium in the world.

The explosion of AI all around the globe is driving a mining boom in this country, but AI's real cost is also being paid in this Chilean desert, far from Silicon Valley.

All across Atacama, Indigenous communities are fighting Chilean and foreign mining companies whose activities disrupt fragile ecosystems, deplete crucial water sources, and threaten their very existence.

I was so honored to spend time in this region last Fall and to learn about this fight.

For AFAR, I wrote about how your travel choices can help.

xx Yulia

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