Ramón Navarro has a calm voice and a gentle gaze — it feels natural to wonder whether there is anything capable of worrying a man who can tackle waves more than ten metres high, true moving walls of water.

There is, in fact, something that frightens Ramón: the uncontrolled coastal development of his homeland, Pichilemu, in Chile — an unspoilt stretch of coastline where Punta de Lobos stands, considered the best surf spot in Chile.

Ramón Navarro is one of the leading figures in big wave surfing, a discipline as dangerous as it is spectacular. Before becoming a world surfing star, Ramón is an environmentalist, and the son of a fisherman.

The fisherman's son: the spirit of Ramón Navarro is the title of the documentary produced by Patagonia that tells the story of the Chilean surfer's life — from humble origins to the fame he achieved riding waves and becoming a Patagonia surf ambassador, by way of the development of an extraordinary environmental awareness.

Ramón's goal is to protect Punta de Lobos — its characteristic sea stacks rising sheer from the water, its waves, its biodiversity, and the people who live there, who have lived in close contact with the ocean for thousands of years, generation after generation.

To achieve this, the initiative Punta de Lobos por Siempre was launched — a fundraising campaign aimed at safeguarding this stretch of coastline, with the goal of purchasing the area and turning it into a protected reserve.

The film, directed by another surfing legend, Chris Malloy, and made in collaboration with the association Save the Waves, was screened at the recent Surfilm Festibal, a surf-focused film festival held in San Sebastian from 24 to 28 June. The perfect setting in which to ask Ramón Navarro what drove him to dedicate his life to the protection of Punta de Lobos.

Was there a particular moment when you realised that Punta de Lobos needed to be protected?
The desire to protect this stretch of coastline was born when I was young and used to follow my father, who has always fished at Punta de Lobos. By accompanying my father on fishing trips and going diving, I inherited from him a love and respect for that place. When construction started spreading everywhere in Pichilemu, my home town, without any planning, I understood that something had to be done to protect our coastline.

Do you think surfing can bring people closer to the environment and help raise awareness?
I believe so. Surfing puts you in contact with the ocean, and when you are in the ocean you truly understand who is in charge — nature and its laws, not man. It doesn't matter whether you are rich or poor; in the water we are all equal and we all have to respect Mother Nature and be aware of our limits.

Punta de Lobos is Chile's most famous surf spot. Don't you think a large influx of surfers could still contribute to environmental degradation?
Unfortunately this is already a current problem. In the 1980s Punta de Lobos was an almost secret place, but over the last fifteen to twenty years its fame has grown considerably, to the point where it is now considered one of the best surf spots in the world. Fortunately, a degree of natural selection is carried out by nature itself — the waves that form there require a certain level of talent and are not accessible to everyone. In a way the waves protect themselves; it is the coastline that needs our help. Surfing is clearly a valuable resource for the local economy, drawing visitors all year round.

As the film's title suggests, you are the son of a fisherman. Traditional fishing is in decline worldwide. What is the future of fishing and fish stocks in Chile?
The decline in fish is a very serious problem that must be addressed at a global level if we are to reverse this trend. Today large vessels catch tonnes of fish using questionable methods, leaving the scraps for small-scale fishermen. In Chile there is no effective regulation of fishing and, just as with pollution and climate change, if we do not act promptly and in a targeted way, it will soon be too late. You don't need to be a scientist or an oceanographer to realise this — you just need to observe the ocean and take a dive.

Why hasn't the government established a national park to protect a stretch of coastline that is unique in the world and of high biological value?
Simply because it cannot. The entire headland is currently privately owned and the government has no authority there — the constitution would need to be changed. The provisions of the current local development plan allow for the construction of new structures, and at least one large-scale condominium project has already been proposed. The only way to save Punta de Lobos is to purchase the land and turn it into a World Surfing Reserve, that is, a world-class natural reserve for surfing.