The last few years have been probably the most hectic in the Capital Azul Foundation’s short life. The sad passing of Benjamin Lagos, the organization’s first executive director, had a profound impact. That is why the year 2022 meant, to a large extent, readjusting to his sudden absence due to a devastating illness.

However his legacy is more alive than ever. Thanks to the push of the artisanal fisher’s unions associated with the TURF-Reserves program, and also to the commitment of the Capital Azul team, the flame kept burning like a beacon in the midst of uncertainty. Milestones like the installation of coastal surveillance cameras, the inauguration of the Maitencillo TURF-Reserve and the environmental education activities carried out concerning the Zapallar TURF-Reserve, put in evidence the resilience of Capital Azul Foundation and of those who are part of this initiative that seeks to create, together with artisanal fishers, the first network of TURF Reserves in Chile to increase biodiversity, revitalize local economies, and scale environmental and community benefits.

“The work carried out during 2022 has allowed us to develop a learning platform through which we’ve been nurturing the TURF-Reserves Program from the lessons and perspectives that each TURF-Reserve and artisanal fisher’s unions associated have contributed along the way. It’s a path in which together we are building a model and actions aimed at strengthening and scaling the program to other regions of Chile,” explained Rodrigo Sánchez Grez, Executive Director of Capital Azul Foundation.

In this way, 2022 was a year for structuring certain processes, move forward in the organizational consolidation of Capital Azul and in the financial sustainability of the TURF-Reserve Program looking into the future. It was a year of vivid emotions, adjustments and lessons that made us delay, more than we wanted to, the delivery of this Impact Report 2022. We, honestly, trust that what has been planted allows us to harvest  in the short and medium-term, and proof of the scope that this initiative achieved throughout 2022 and the sustained impact during 2023, a year that is already in its final stretch.