Context: From Challenge to Opportunity

The south-central region of Chile, where wine production is concentrated, faces growing challenges associated with climate change, such as heat waves, wildfires, and changes in precipitation, which affect wine quality and production stability. Rising temperatures accelerate grape ripening and alter key attributes that determine the final quality of the product.

Healthy ecosystems are essential for strengthening adaptation and resilience. The climate crisis and biodiversity loss are not separate challenges, but interdependent ones, and they require integrated solutions.

This challenge is particularly acute in Central Chile, one of the world’s five Mediterranean ecosystems and a global biodiversity hotspot, which is home to more than 50% of the country’s species but has less than 1% under state protection within the national system of protected areas.

Business Implications

The Chilean wine industry faces the challenge of maintaining its competitiveness in increasingly demanding markets, where quality and verifiable environmental commitments are becoming ever more important.
At the same time, growing dependence on external inputs is increasing production and economic uncertainty. In light of this scenario, the VCCB is promoting a transition toward more resilient and self-sufficient systems, incorporating nature-based solutions and ecological processes that strengthen production on the vineyard itself.
The challenge is to move toward a viticulture that is both competitive and profitable, while managing and enhancing the ecosystems on which it depends.

What does the VCCB propose?

The VCCB Program proposes a paradigm shift in production management: recognizing biodiversity as strategic natural infrastructure to strengthen the resilience, sustainability, and competitiveness of the wine sector.

From this perspective, we investigate how ecosystems influence key processes related to production, such as water availability, natural pest and disease control, soil health, microbial diversity, and the ability to adapt to climate change.

Drawing on this knowledge, we develop nature-based solutions—including ecological restoration and biodiversity management—that help strengthen production resilience, reduce external dependencies, and enhance the unique character of Chilean wine. In addition, we support companies in integrating biodiversity into their production strategies, from on-the-ground implementation to training and knowledge transfer processes.

The results obtained in collaboration with more than 25 vineyards demonstrate tangible benefits. Native vegetation and soils contribute to carbon sequestration, conservation areas strengthen natural pest and disease control, and local microorganisms enhance the wine’s identity and quality. Practices such as ecological corridors and nest boxes reinforce these processes, integrating nature and production.

Our experience shows that incorporating biodiversity into management is not merely an environmental priority, but a strategic requirement for building more sustainable, resilient, and competitive production systems.

This approach has already expanded to other agricultural sectors, supporting initiatives related to sustainability, biodiversity, and regenerative agriculture. Since 2021, we have supported the Dairy Consortium in designing its Biodiversity Actions for the “Sustainability Standard for Dairy Farms.” Additionally, together with ChileOliva, we collaborate on Clean Production Agreements, supporting the implementation of their Biodiversity and Regenerative Agriculture goals.