22
de octubre del 2000
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22
de octubre del 2000
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By Gustavo González SANTIAGO.- The miracle of the desert in flower has brought a multicolored spectacle to northern Chile this year, attracting visitors for its beauty and piquing the interest of scientists. The abundant rains that fell this austral winter in the Atacama Desert, considered the most arid in the world, produced an outbreak of blossoms not seen in years, ''awakening'' the seeds that were dormant among the rocky crags and sand dunes. Brightly colors now break the normally gray horizons of the Atacama, 600 to 1,000 km north of Santiago, with areas of vibrant red, green, violet and yellow. The blooms, which began appearing in September, will remain until December, Jessica Acuña, Communications director for the Atacama regional government, told Tierramérica. ''The cycle continues in March (2001), because even though the presence of the flowers disappears in January, the insects begin to come out, thus continuing the biological process,'' she explained. There are more than 200 types of plants adorning the landscape and some of them, such as the 'añañucas' and the lion's claw, are endemic, meaning they are found only here. The flowering desert is a natural treasure, with a fragility that originates in its beauty, because it is constantly exposed to the harmful actions of tourists, who leave behind waste and are not contented with just looking at the flowers, but take them from the desert. In early September, the Atacama region's top government official, Armando Arancibia, created a ''Desert Flower'' commission, made up of representatives from public services, municipalities, excursion groups, national police, army and private enterprise. The duty of the commission is to take care of this natural work of art, implementing measures to protect the plants and insects as well as conducting public education - with emphasis on the children - to help people understand the necessity of preserving this resource. ''There has been a large increase in tourism, both national and foreign, with numerous groups arriving here by bus. Thanks to the protection measures, which include demarcating paths and planning tour routes, we have prevented people from destroying or hurting the area, and stopped the massive removal of flowers,'' said Acuña. Alongside the enthusiasm of tourists, scientists are interested in the spring spectacle. The Atacama regional government has received proposals to create flower conservation nurseries and to conduct experiments with the desert flowers and their bulbs. * The author is an IPS correspondent Copyright © 2000 Tierramérica. Todos los Derechos Reservados |
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