The Chilean Agriculture Ministry's center for natural resources information is putting together the first information system on High Andes wetlands in the three regions of the country's north. The project, which will begin in the far northern region of Antofagasta, will integrate the existing technical, scientific and cultural information about these ecosystems with new studies in the area.

In addition to recovering ancestral indigenous uses of the highland marshes, the system will study the relation between those places and mining and tourism operations, among others.

“The study will provide information on the geographic, physical and social reality of the territory in terms of water,” Julio Ramos, president of the Atacama People's Council, in Antofagasta, told Tierramérica.

It will help in making informed, consensus decisions about the model for developing the area, he said.