History, mission & objectives

Huinay is a piece of land belonging to the San Ignacio del Huinay Foundation. This territory covers nearly 34,000 hectares located in the Commune of Hualaihué, in the X of Chile (the Lake District). It lies between the Comau fjord in the Province of Palena and the border with the Republic of Argentina. Its location (42°22´ S, 72°24´ W) corresponds to the biogeographical Province of Magallanes and specifically to a zone that is highly representative of the continental fjords of North Patagonia.

Established in 1998 by Endesa Chile and the Pontifíca Universidad Católica de Valparaiso, the San Ignacio del Huinay Foundation was created with the purpose of facilitating ongoing scientific research as well as seeking to preserve the biogeographical heritage of Huinay by means scientific research and sustainable development techniques.

The Huinay Scientific Field Station was inaugurated on December 3, 2001 and has commenced facilitating pioneering research in a variety of fields. Today this is the only scientific field station in all the vast Chilean Patagonia.

The Station is managed by the Board of Directors of the Foundation. A science director at the station is responsible for the work of the local and foreign researchers interested in carrying out their studies in the area. An administrator at the station is in charge of the operating staff and all the logistics for the normal functioning of this center.

The inauguration of the station symbolized the development of broadly based scientific research, to be carried out in a well designed laboratory open to new ideas and initiatives from both the Chilean and International scientific community. Our goals are to promote the expansion of information on the current biological and physical potential of the marine, terrestrial, and atmospheric systems at or near to the Comau Fjord, representing the Chilean fjord region.