As for dangers, looks like:
- Lack of rail connectivity
- Climate change reducing snow
- Climate change droughtAs for the dangers you raised those are all real problems but none of them are specific to this plant.
Not my field, but I'd assume the risk of cross-pollination and eventual accidental hybridization of the native species is high.
As you're essentially re-planting pure hybrids, but the native species is having to seed and grow generations normally.
Weirdly enough, there aren't even roads connecting the southernmost part of Chile to the north without taking a detour through Argentina, though I guess nature might appreciate the largely untouched conservation zone that separates Patagonia from the north.
Not that weird. The country pretty much becomes an archipelago + ice field south of Coyhaique.
> In the 2000s the Chilean state railway company was involved in a huge corruption scandal as well as bad administrative practices. It’s been slowly recovering, but rail services in Chile still leave a lot to be desired.
I think the market is simply one of unusual niche fruits, it's probably something the Chilean government itself needs to create.
Ultimately the main problem is that climate change is affecting the natural production of the fruit so if there's no commercial interest for it and the government doesn't care about the cultural importance of it; then it's bound to disappear and that would genuinely be a big loss (at least I'd consdier it a big loss) for cultural and biodiversity reasons.
But I think this problem is genuinely one that needs to be confronted by the Chilean government. It could become a luxury product if you target Asian markets for example.
This article is not an appeal to you as a reader to save the white strawberry business. It is an article on a website that makes money promoting travel and as such is not written so that the reader is in charge of the future of the fruit.