Ana Sandoval
Ana Sandoval has been working as a technical researcher at the seedbank of Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA) in Vicuña, Chile since 2005. She has dedicated her work life to protect the most threatened endemic native Chilean plant species.
Her achievements include conserving endemic species in the Atacama Desert, and proposing the integrated conservation of three highly threatened endemic tree species. Ana has collected seeds, produced propagation protocols, grown plants, and engaged with local communities to make sure these species natural habitats are not being lost due to human pressures such as mining and construction.
Ana has engaged with the local government of La Serena and has used public spaces such as parks, hospitals and schools for planting individuals of Myrcianthes coquimbensis, a tree endemic to the region and highly threatened with extinction. These plantings have involved local community and interpretation panels designed by Ana and have been used to create a strong impact. Ana and her Institution are part of the advisory panel in a National Plan for the Restoration and Management of the Myrcianthes coquimbensis designed by the Chilean government. She is a conservation advocate and presents her work at conferences worldwide with a primary focus in the local community where these plants grow.
This year, Ana and her team are working on a new conservation proposal in the Antofagasta region, in northern Chile. They will collect and store seeds from these species in the seedbank and will research their ecology, germination and cultivation with the aim of restoring highly threatened endemic species habitats. She is also in the process of creating a botanic garden of endemic and native Chilean flora at the entrance and surrounding area of the seedbank where she works. The botanic garden will add value to the already amazing conservation work carried out at the seedbank.