The phenomenon occurs naturally every five years. But the local authorities want to water the desert so that the flowers appear every year in order to attract tourists. A heresy for scientists.
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In Chile, it is a natural phenomenon unique in the world. Every 5 to 7 years, part of the Atacama Desert, the most arid on the planet, is covered with flowers in pink tones. And this magnificent landscape attracts tourists and photographers.
At a time when international tourism has not yet really resumed in Chile because of the pandemic, here is what a local representative of the Ministry of Agriculture explained: “We want this biological heritage to be able to express itself every year”, he said. At his side, the regional prefect added to want “cause this phenomenon and not wait for it to happen on its own”. The local authorities therefore want to water three hectares of desert. They hope to attract more visitors than before. Finally, it is also a question of studying the seeds of these plants, to understand how they manage to survive with so little water.
Several researchers who study the ecosystems and plants of the Atacama Desert reacted very quickly. For them, watering the desert is heresy. It is as absurd as wanting to drain a wetland to study it, underlines one of them (link to an article in Spanish).
This experiment risks killing very fragile microorganisms that live in the soil of the Atacama Desert, and endangering biodiversity in the experimental areas. The researchers point out that these ecosystems are unique in the world and made up of many species that do not exist anywhere else than Chile: plants, insects, birds and other small animals.
Another fear raised by a botanist (link to an article in Spanish) : how will water be brought on site? She warns that tankers could crush the small underground galleries dug by animals and insects.