Chile:
The worthless CERTFOR tree plantation certification
label
Most Chilean forestry companies’ plantations
are certified, some by FSC and the majority by CERTFOR (a member
of PEFC). In round figures, FSC has certified some 350,000 hectares,
while CERTFOR has certified approximately 1,600,000 hectares.
Given the importance of CERTFOR in Chile, it interesting to analyze
it in greater detail.
The first thing to draw our attention
is the total number of hectares certified by CERTFOR, equivalent
to almost 80% of the total number of hectares planted in Chile.
That is to say that these certified companies are mainly responsible
for most of the environmental problems documented in Chile at
the level of plantations: destruction of native forests, depletion
and pollution of water resources, negative impacts on soils, on
flora and on fauna.
At the same time, these monoculture
tree plantations have resulted in serious social impacts: the
occupation of Mapuche territories, repression, criminalization,
migration, loss of jobs, poor working conditions and health
problems linked to the use of agrochemical products.
It should be noted that it was not an
easy job to find information on the certified companies. Eventually
the major figures regarding plantations set out in the following
paragraphs were found, but it was not possible to find details
of the location and size of the various plots of land as none
of these companies provide this type of information on their websites.
The fact that only one economic group
– the Arauco Group – should possess over a million hectares of
pine and eucalyptus plantations certified by Certfor is also noteworthy.
Bosques Arauco (289.000 ha), Forestal Celco and Forestal Cholguán
(550,000 ha) and Forestal Valdivia (252,000) are all companies
forming part of this Group.
For its part, the other large economic
group – the Matte Group, owner of Forestal Mininco- possesses
between 550,000 and 600,000 hectares certified by
this same certification scheme.
On top of the added impacts of these
plantations (an aspect which does not seem to be of any importance
to the certifying companies), these two major groups have a long
track record of negative social and environmental impacts. In
an article published recently in this bulletin (Chile: The short-lived
lies of a “successful” forestry model), we summarized many of
these impacts. For example, it was said that “during the
season of the year when there is the greatest demand for labour,
in the commune of Los Sauces, Province of Malleco in the South
of Chile, the Mininco forestry company gives work to only 19 people
from the commune and pays them very low salaries .... Like in
other parts of the country, their enormous profits are expressed
in a loss of quality of life for the local people. Thirty-three
point eight per cent of the population live in either poverty
or dire poverty.”
Furthermore, “Agricultural activities
declined 22 % over the past 10 years, gradually forcing over 1,400
people to migrate to towns... One of the reasons is the lack of
water as the plantations have dried up the soil. Every summer
the municipality has to deliver water by truck for domestic consumption.”
“In addition to the lack of water is
the problem of agrochemical contamination. The neighbours in the
rural sectors of Porvenir Bajo and Porvenir Alto suffer from serious
health problems due to plantation spraying by the Comaco forestry
company. Agrochemicals, in particular herbicides (glyphosate and
simazine), are mechanically or manually sprayed before plantation
and at various times during the first stages of growth of the
trees, polluting rivers, brooks and irrigation channels.”
Additionally, the workers that manage
to obtain employment in these certified plantations face problems.
An article published recently in the press (15/11/07) reported
that “forestry workers in the Province of Arauco, in Curanilahue,
accuse Forestal Arauco of intervention in the trade unions, of
not fulfilling its commitments and obligations and of seriously
impoverishing the Province.” More serious still, is the fact that
a movement launched in March in the Arauco area “initiating negotiations
between outsourced workers and the forestry holdings (Bosques
Arauco, Forestal Mininco) ... ended with one dead worker.”
These companies are also responsible
for criminalizing the opposition and for the lengthy prison sentences
imposed on people who oppose their plantations. The exception
happened on 15 June 2007, when for the first time a forestry
company –Mininco- lost a court case lodged by a Mapuche community
member, José Cariqueo. However it should be noted that for five
years José Cariqueo suffered prison and persecution due to Mininco’s
false accusations.
In sum, on granting its certification
label to these companies, CERTFOR is granting itself a well deserved
label: its death certificate.
Article based on information from: Mapuexpresss.
Trabajadores Forestales denuncian a Empresa Arauco del Grupo Angelini,
15/11/07
http://www.mapuexpress.net/?act=news&id=2185
Pehuén. Mapuche wins court case against
the forestry company, Mininco, 15/6/07
http://www.pehuen.org/mapuche-gana-juicio-forestal-mininco
El Quinto Infierno. A wide range of
activities in Santiago and regions in support of CUT mobilization.
http://www.elquintoinfierno.cl/2007/08/28/
amplia-gama-de-actividades-en-santiago-y-regiones-
por-movilizacion-de-cut/
Data
on certified plantations, http://www.pefc.org/
y http://www.certfor.org/
