The Sector Environmental Permits (PAS) are those that have an environmental protection purpose and are indicated and regulated according to the D.S. No. 40, of 2012, of the Ministry of the Environment, Regulation of the Environmental Impact Assessment System (RSEIA). The first sectoral permit requested by Las Salinas and approved by the SAG is the species rescue and location permit, corresponding to sectoral environmental permit number 146 of the SEIA. The project committed to rescue and relocate wildlife classified in one of the Ministry of the Environment’s conservation categories. The classification regulations establish a series of categories for fauna ranging from extinct to endangered. This classification includes two species of lizards that are in the category of “lesser concern” and could be found in the field. The hunting or capture of specimens of protected species of animals is requested for research purposes, for the creation of breeding centers and for other sustainable uses, such as the protection of wildlife, which is important because they are protected species or species with some degree of vulnerability. The implementation of a wildlife rescue plan should be carried out by specialists, since the objective is to minimize environmental impacts on wildlife in the area of direct influence of the project, by means of and specimens in conservation category. The methodology for rescuing and relocating fauna must consider the guidelines established in the “Informe sobre mitigación de impacto ambiental en Fauna Silvestre: Rescate y Relocalización”, prepared by the Faculty of Sciences of the Universidad de Chile on behalf of SAG and the Documento General Guía Para La Evaluación de Línea de Base Componente Fauna Silvestre (General Guidance Document for the Evaluation of the Baseline Wildlife Component). In the case of Las Salinas, the need has been established to incorporate the lizards, which are reptiles Liolaemus lemniscatus, Liolaemus tenuis found in some sectors where sanitation work will be carried out, into a fauna rescue and relocation plan. The rescue process is carried out by manual capture and the animals are tracked using quadrants, with emphasis on the times of day when the reptiles are most active. Once the animals are captured, they are kept in plastic boxes conditioned with branches, substrate from the capture site, ventilation, and adequate humidity and temperature conditions, and this captivity stage cannot be prolonged for more than 12 hours. Subsequently, they are transferred to the selected relocation area(s) to be released. The species rescue and relocation work will be carried out by Cedrem Consultores, a natural resources and environmental consulting firm specializing in this type of activity. They were awarded this task after winning a bid proposed by ILS. Héctor Jimenez, Biologist and Master of Science, specialist in fauna rescue and relocation, and General Manager of Cedrem Consultores explains how this process is carried out. Image accompanying the text was obtained from .
