After Chiappe won recognition in 1994 for persuading the Chubut Forest Department to create Cerro Pirque Provincial Park, the first protected area in Epuyén valley, he attended the 2nd International Conference on Temperate Forests, organized by The Native Forest Network in Montana. There he learned about new conservation strategies, such as the need to interconnect National Parks with biological corridors in order to save species that migrate over long distances. Soon after, he received a letter from his colleague Malu Sierra, Director of Defenders of the Chilean Forest who – inspired by the enforcement of an international treaty to protect whales in the oceans south of the 40th parallel – suggested they join forces and launch a similar campaign for the creation of the Gondwana Forest Sanctuary.

Chiappe launched a grassroots and media campaign aimed at persuading Argentine officials to establish the North Andean Patagonian Regional Eco-Corridor Project through his organization Project Lemu. Chiappe originally founded Project Lemu in 1990 to promote protection of the remaining native forests in the Epuyén valley, where it is based. The project has expanded to promote inter-agency cooperation and legal reforms needed to create, strengthen, and interconnect parks and other protected areas. It also provides a variety of materials and resources on forest conservation, and conservation education in the region's rural schools.

Project Lemu's organizing activities include popular festivals and eco-celebrations, letter-writing, petitioning and other forms of lobbying. It publishes newsletters, journals and school texts on forest issues and general ecology. It has produced leaflets, posters, stickers, calendars, post-cards, t-shirts, 17 different TV spots sponsored by the Patagonia company, a 30-minute documentary, radio programs, a Web site, two photo books, and dozens of articles and interviews in local and national magazines and newspapers.

Project Lemu's education programs include stories, music cassettes and didactic games for children; teacher training and guides; and workshops, conferences, audiovisual shows and outdoor education programs for school children in Argentina and Chile. Project Lemu has worked with two provincial universities to establish several native plant nurseries and reforestation programs. It also has established native tree nurseries and training centers in several communities throughout the region, and at least one municipality (Trevelin) has formally committed itself to rely on native species for its cultivation and reforestation programs. Project Lemu pushed hard to get Chubut Province to establish its first two parks, Cerro Pirque and Río Turbio, and now provides training programs for park guards.

Project Lemu owes much of its success to creating independent, self-sustaining local groups that work to spread the ideas at the grassroots level. Project Lemu staff visit various localities in the region and present talks, videos, slide shows, and workshops. During such visits, Chiappe and his associates facilitate the creation of small groups of enthusiastic individuals who are committed to the cause of environmental protection. These later expand into larger groups, in the style of Project Lemu.

At a certain stage in their development, these new groups continue to receive advice and assistance from Project Lemu but are no longer dependent on it. In this way, they are able to retain their local character and appeal more effectively to their local communities for support. At the same time, Chiappe is creating an increasingly powerful network of independent, grassroots environmental leaders. He is building direct links between these leaders and public officials, collaborating organizations, and the population at large through letters, faxes and telephone calls.