Biodiversity Pathways to Sustainable Viticulture in Chile and New Zealand

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) believes the solutions to climate change lie in nature-based solutions, many of which can be achieve through strategic partnerships that enhance biodiversity. Protecting and restoring nature can have a profound impact on the capacity to reduce carbon emissions quicker, and given philanthropic investment, farmers could become key players in biodiversity development.

New Zealand and Chile are both countries renowned for their winemaking and while they may compete on who makes the best Pinot, there exists a great opportunity for collaboration on sustainability. Across Chile and New Zealand, some winegrowers are taking action to become more sustainable and reduce their environmental impact through regenerative agriculture, wildlife conservation & restoration, renewable and efficient energy & transport, and becoming advocates for cultural change. In Chile, Viña Tarapacá has partnered with the University of Chile to measure carbon-capture capacity for its wildlife corridor initiative that reconnects the 2,000 hectares of land across the viticultural operations on the land between the Maipo River and the Altos de Cantillana mountains. Not only does this encourage enhanced biodiversity and carbon sequestration in the area through native reforestation, but it also demonstrates their business commitment to honouring the land on which their production is based.

In Aotearoa, there is an industry-wide movement led by the national wine body, with many NZ growers choosing to demonstrate their commitment through standards and certifications. Yealands is a Malborough carbon-zero winery, with biodiversity initiatives such as a butterfly gully to enhance pollination, wetlands restoration, agricultural use of sheep and pigs for weed and waste management, and native plantings and wildflowers. In addition, they are moving toward renewable energy and waste minimisation to holistically account for their impact of production and consumption.

With increasing legislation and regulations in both markets likely to impact farmers in future, the key to change must happen at the farmgate to encourage alternative ways of agriculture that enhance the environment rather than compete with it. New Zealand and Chilean wine growers might benefit from sharing best-practices and knowledge to protect the local land and biodiversity for the future sustainability of wine and thriving life on Earth.

Regenerative Agriculture in Indigenous New Zealand and Chile

Regenerative farming is not currently the dominant production system in New Zealand. However, it is currently practiced by a small number of farmers and growers. It is also known as “agroecology”, “ecological” and “biological” and includes farms operating with the market certifications of biodynamic and organic. It is characterised by the significant diversification of crops, plants and animals and the low use of inputs, none of which are synthetic. Synthetic inputs are replaced with practices that mimic natural systems to access nutrients, water and pest control required for growth. Common practices include: Diversification, Agro-forestry; cover-cropping/green manures, intercropping, adaptive/holistic grazing, reduced tillage. Many of these have been developed with indigenous knowledge accumulated over millennia. Linking knowledge of indigenous groups in Chile and New Zealand agribusiness will strengthen the environmental and social corners in a triple bottom line approach.

Before Europeans arrived in New Zealand Māori had a staple diet of seafood and birds for protein, and aruhe (fern root) and cultivated imported crops. These crops, carried across the Pacific by their ancestors, were kūmara (sweet potato), taro, hue (bottle gourd) and uwhi (yam). The knowledge gained by Māori growing and storing these tropical crops in Aotearoa’s cooler climate gave them gardening skills that enabled them to move rapidly from subsistence gardening to commercial agriculture (Ahuwhenua, 2008) .

Nowadays, around 1.5 million hectares of land in New Zealand is Māori land (around 5% of New Zealand’s total land area). Of this, 750,187 hectares (49.5% of Māori land) is administered by ahuwhenua trusts and 207,157 hectares (13.7% of Māori land) by Māori incorporations. Almost all the incorporations, and a significant proportion of the ahuwhenua trusts, have an interest in agriculture. Many of the other organisations are involved in horticulture or forestry. In 2007 it was estimated that the asset value of these organisations was around $3.2 billion (Teara, 208).

In the pre-Spanish period, the Mapuche lived in scattered farming villages throughout the Central Valley. Each settlement had a cacique, or chief, whose authority did not generally extend beyond his own village. The Mapuche cultivated corn (maize), beans, squash, potatoes, chili peppers, and other vegetables and fished, hunted, and kept guinea pigs for meat. They kept llamas as pack animals and as a source of wool. A man's wealth was reckoned in terms of the size of his llama herd (Brittanica, 2021).

Mapuche agriculture today is the result of a long process of using technical methods in the countryside as well as employing public policies aimed at developing market agriculture.

They do crop rotations to avoid diseases and pests. A few years ago, they began to establish contour lines on slopes so that the water does not drain and enter the underground layers. To fertilise the land locals use products of animal origin, and sometimes some marine algae from the area, the “kolloy” or cochayuyo, as it is known in Chile. There are multiple agroecological techniques in the Mapuche orchards and they vary according to the territory, whether they are: Lafkenche (seafarers) or Pehuenche (mountain people). The main difference between these techniques is due to the different conditions of the soil, climate and food, among others. For example, the Lafkenche community can use marine algae for fertilisation whereas the Pehuenche cannot (Parra, 2020).

Regenerative Agriculture Trial Set to Prove Different System Design with Indigenous Excellence

A partnership between Ngāi Tahu Farming and Ngāi Tūāhuriri (one of the 18 Rūnanga/Tribal Councils of Ngāi Tahu), and the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund is currently undergoing baseline testing to launch a side by side regenerative vs conventional farming experiment, validating the science of indigenous regenerative agriculture.

The land was converted out of forestry in 2018 and the goal is to revitalise the poorly developed soil post-forestry into thriving dairy farms to grow inter-generational sustainability. Not only will the 7-year study assess the effects on nature, but also how regenerative farming methods holistically impact the wellbeing of the farmers themselves.

The operating model of the largest Chilean dairy producer, Manuka, is already based on the New Zealand pastoral system. Based in the south of Chile with operations across Los Lagos and Los Rios, similar latitudes to New Zealand, Manuka has a particular focus on environmental and social sustainability. They implement the New Zealand grazing and grass management model, as well as take steps to reduce emissions, engage in local reforestation initiatives, and improve renewable energy usage.

New Zealand's conventional pastoral farming model already includes some degree of regenerative principles such as rotational grazing and longer lengths, diverse species, minimal tillage and cultivation techniques, and use of organic fertilisers like seaweed and fish fertiliser. Alongside measuring the outputs and environmental health of the side-by-side conventional and regenerative farms, the trial will incorporate and showcase mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and the environmental and social benefits this provides to our interlinked social and ecological natural systems.

With fast-approaching NZ agriculture regulatory changes likely to impact reporting on emissions, financial support, and farm-level operations, the results of this indigenous science-based experiment will likely aid in establishing mainstream KPIs and targets for farmers seeking sustainability-linked finance and alternative agriculture practices to reduce emissions and comply with reporting. The next few years will be pivotal as NZ financial institutions incorporate Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) & Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) principles into business lending and bonds in adherence with the National Adaptation Plan.

The trial therefore, offers immense opportunities not only for defining regenerative agriculture practices and standards in New Zealand and proving the value and benefits of the system design to farmers and the financial sector, but also to drive sustainable change across similar systems in Chile. The similarities shared in these sectors and the rich indigenous agricultural knowledge across the regions offer solutions to work with nature rather than against it to develop sustainable agricultural systems and increase resilience and mitigation of the effects of climate change.

Me hoki whakamuri, kia anga whakamua - look to the past in order to forge the future.