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Chile: The Ñielol forest – witness to lies
on forests and plantations
The Ñielol
hill located near
the city of Temuco in Chile’s Ninth Region, is a faithful witness
to the numerous lies circulating both in this region and in many
others in the country as well as in other countries, regarding
forests and plantations.
The first
lie refers to the fact that the intention is to confuse people
by speaking of forests when in fact it is monoculture tree plantations
that are involved. The forestry companies, the most interested
parties in this confusion, use various expressions: forests, planted
forests, artificial forests, production forests. However,
the difference between forests and plantations is evident to any
person who, after visiting the region’s monoculture pine and eucalyptus
plantations, reaches the Ñielol forest.
On observing
its beauty and biodiversity, one is able to confirm the fact that
this is a forest. Numerous species of native trees can be found
such as Quillays, Oaks, Coihues, Lumas, Temus, Nirres, Lleuques,
Raulís, Cinnamons, Maiténs, Hualas, Hualos, Olivillos, Peumos,
Boldo and Copihue (the national flower), which in turn harbour
an infinity of other plant species and animals.
At the entry
to the Ñielol forest we find further proof of the major difference
between a forest and a plantation. A notice indicates that
fire hazards in this forest are low. Generally the notices
near plantations announce the contrary: High fire risks. The reason
for this difference is that forests by generating water are able
to store humidity from the ecosystem and therefore tend to eliminate
the possibility of fires. On the other hand, plantations,
that are well known for their capacity to deplete water resources
and dry up soils, increase the possibility of fires and this has
been demonstrated on numerous occasions.
The Ñielol
forest is also a testimonial for the inhabitants of Temuco and
for all those who visit it (at least for those who can pay the
entry fee), of all the wealth that is no longer at community disposal,
despite the fact that it is precisely the communities that have
known how to use it, preserving it for future generations.
Forestry
companies usually affirm that it is they with their plantations
that alleviate existing pressure on forests. Nothing is further
from the truth. The local people affirm that it is not true
that the plantations have lessened deforestation; on the contrary,
deforestation has been stepped up. One of the reasons is that
the timber from the plantations is expensive and inaccessible
for domestic use; firewood supplies are made at the expense of
the scant forest areas that have not yet been destroyed by the
forestation companies to install their plantations.
This means
that the plantation companies are not only directly responsible
for past deforestation but that they are also responsible for
present deforestation. In fact, the local people say that when
the companies are “cleaning the forest” to replace it with plantations,
they do it quickly and with heavy machinery. They are able to
make hundreds of hectares of forest disappear in a short while.
One person affirmed that he had seen this happen in the commune
of Cunco, near to Temuco. This is not an exception, it has taken
place and been denounced since 2003 by various organizations.
Most of the complaints in this region are made against the Forestal
Millalemu Company. It is therefore hard to believe that this company
has been certified by FSC and nominated as a candidate to a prize
by the Regional Advisory Council of the National Environmental
Commission, CONAMA.
For their
part, various social organizations from different regions of the
country gathered on 28 July in the city of Temuco. Aware of the
fact that the Chilean forestry model is being promoted in many
other Latin American countries and in the rest of the world as
an example of development, in an open letter they describe the
negative impacts caused by monoculture tree plantations to the
communities in their territory:
“Our
rich forests, where our communities obtained food and where they
lived for hundreds of years, have been replaced in their great
majority by monoculture tree plantations that do not provide benefits
to the communities.
Monoculture
tree plantations have affected the water level of our rivers and
streams and have led to a reduction in tree species and in associated
flora and fauna. They have also caused other environmental damage,
such as erosion and soil degradation, the appearance of pests
and diseases and brought health problems to communities from the
use of poisons to counteract them. Research on transgenic trees
already being carried out in these regions will only worsen negative
environmental impacts.
Monoculture
tree plantations have not increased sources of employment. Nor
have they improved the standard of living of the neighbouring
communities as promised by the promoters for decades, but have
increasingly impoverished them, generating high risk slave labour,
increasing labour instability and rural to urban migration.
The two most forested regions of the country have the highest
poverty rates.
Most of
the community lands have fallen into the hands of large transnational
corporations and powerful economic groups that have benefited
from Decree Law 701 subsidising tree plantations, promulgated
in October 1974, a year after the installation of the military
dictatorship and still in force today. To this subsidy were
added special credits for plantations and the elimination of taxes
both on land and on plantations. The total liberation of
the market for forestry products further promoted the expansion
of these projects as it eliminated quotas, duties and standards
that established minimum requirements for exports of such products.
For some years now the companies have achieved new strategies
so that State bodies have even more public funds available to
involve small farmers in tree plantations. Furthermore, the population
permanently subsidises the companies, as the State must take on
economic costs related to highways, roads and bridges, social
costs related to health deterioration, more excluded communities
and increased delinquency and the socioeconomic costs derived
from the elimination of native forests, changes in traditional
land use and food deficiencies.
The installation
of pulp mills in our territory has generated greater socio-cultural,
environmental and economic problems in the communities where they
have been installed.
The Chilean
forestry model has also left a trail of hundreds of people arrested,
prosecuted and sentenced, dozens of people injured, thousands
of people mobilized, seeking to recover their encroached on territories
– in their great majority the Mapuche people – and attempting
to curb monoculture tree plantations and installation of pulp
mills.”
At the top
of the Ñielol a big poster transcribes two poems by Selva Saavedra.
In one of them called “Ex-trees”, already in the last century
the Chilean poet asked, “Logging … until when?” It is a very good
question. We should add “Tree monocultures … until when?”
By Ana Filippini,
World Rainforest Movement (WRM), e-mail:
anafili@wrm.org.uy.
You can see this article in Spanish with
photos at: http://www.wrm.org.uy/paises/Chile/Nielol.pdf
