Every five to 10 years, depending on the cycle of the El Niño ocean current, torrential rains reach seeds buried in Chile’s northern desert. Briefly, some of the world’s most arid terrain blooms with the brilliant ochre, crimson, teal and mauve of its patient wildflowers. It’s a dazzling diversion from what in Chile has become a worrisome trend—desertification. According to CONAF, Chile’s national forestry service, 62% of the country’s narrow territory suffers from serious degradation due to desertification, with the desert advancing southward at a rate of one-fifth of a mile (one-third of a kilometer) per year. Alarmed by what desertification could do to the country’s resource-based economy and a national territory slightly larger than Texas, CONAF and some non-governmental... [Log in to read more]