News & ViewsPublished: 16 July 2026Indigenous rights and conservationManuel Prieto ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4262-37861 Nature Sustainability (2026) Cite this articleSave articleView saved researchSubjectsInterdisciplinary studiesSustainabilityAssessing whether returning land to Indigenous communities delivers on its environmental promise requires evidence that goes beyond titling of continuously occupied lands. A study now uses three decades of satellite data on Mapuche land restitution in Chile to show how restitution reshapes landscapes, but opens space to ask what such evidence can and cannot see.This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institutionAccess optionsAccess Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journalsGet Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription27,99 € / 30 dayscancel any timeLearn moreSubscribe to this journalReceive 12 digital issues and online access to articles118,99 € per yearonly 9,92 € per issueLearn moreRent or buy this articlePrices vary by article typefrom$1.95to$39.95Learn morePrices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkoutFig. 1: Two regimes of visibility over the same restituted territory.ReferencesJaimovich, D., Jordán, F., Black, M. & Heilmayr, R. Nat. Sustain. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-026-01876-x (2026).Article Google Scholar Berkes, F., Colding, J. & Folke, C. Ecol. Appl. 10, 1251–1262 (2000).Article Google Scholar Denevan, W. M. Ann. Assoc. Am. Geogr. 82, 369–385 (1992).Article Google Scholar Blackman, A., Corral, L., Lima, E. S. & Asner, G. P. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 114, 4123–4128 (2017).Article CAS Google Scholar Escobar, A. Territories of Difference: Place, Movements, Life, Redes (Duke Univ. Press, 2008).Hale, C. R. NACLA Rep. Am. 38, 16–21 (2004).Article Google Scholar Tuck, E. & Yang, K. W. Decoloniz.: Indig. Educ. Soc. 1, 1–40 (2012).Google Scholar Catrileo, M. Diccionario Lingüístico Etnográfico de la Lengua Mapuche: Mapudungun, Español, Inglés (Univ. Austral de Chile, 2017).Bennett, M. M., Chen, J. K., Alvarez León, L. F. & Gleason, C. J. Prog. Hum. Geogr. 46, 729–752 (2022).Article Google Scholar Liboiron, M. Nat. Geosci. 14, 876–877 (2021).Article CAS Google Scholar Download referencesAuthor informationAuthors and AffiliationsUniversidad de Tarapacá, Arica, ChileManuel PrietoAuthorsManuel PrietoView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarCorresponding authorCorrespondence to Manuel Prieto.Ethics declarationsCompeting interestsThe author declares no competing interests.Rights and permissionsReprints and permissionsAbout this article