The CIEP study area consists of the western Chilean Patagonia ecosystems (41° 45’S - 56° 32’S), from their fluvial or lacustrine origins to the adjacent ocean. This area includes the interior water system of glacially formed island and channels that constitutes 95% of the Chilean shoreline. Moreover, it is one of the most complex and least-intervened hydric systems on the planet. This extensive zone also contains valuable fresh water reserves of worldwide importance, with the outstanding presence of large ice fields.

Because Aysén is at the geographic center of the described area, the project’s initial activities focus on the Aysén Region. The area’s valuable environment patrimony is constituted by a wide variety of ecosystems and rich aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity. The enormous basing found in the region are believed to contain some of the few places on Earth where anthropogenic activities have not left a significant mark on primary natural cycles. This environmental patrimony is, at the same time associated with an enormous potential for industrial development (fishery, tourism, hydroenergy, mining)

In the region, four relevant hydrographic basins can by distinguished. This have large, trans-Andean, mixed regime rivers (Palena, Cisnes, Aysén, Baker), two glacial-fed basins (Pascua, Bravo), and two extensive Ice Field: North (located completely within the region) and South (only partially so)