Northern Chile’s Lauca National Park, in the Atacama desert near the Bolivian border, would rank near the top of any list of this country’s important conservation lands. The park includes towering volcanoes, 4,000-meter-high Chungara lake—one of the world’s highest water bodies—and villages of the Aymara people, who have lived here for thousands of years. The Aymara graze alpaca, llama and sheep in verdant bog lands and grow subsistence crops such as tomatoes and corn. For all its beauty, however, Lauca also is the site of a long-running development battle. At issue is water and mineral extraction in the park, a UN biosphere reserve. Chile’s Public Works Ministry finished digging seven water wells in the park between 1992 and 1993. But... [Log in to read more]