Chile:
Opposition to government subsidies for the expansion of monoculture
tree plantations
In response to the global economic crisis that erupted late last
year, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has announced a series
of measures to foster job creation and economic recovery. One of
the most surprising measures is the decision to temporarily increase
the subsidies granted to tree plantations under Decree Law 701.
Decree Law 701, also known as the Forestry Promotion Law, is the
main instrument underlying a forestry model that has contributed
to the unjust and voracious appropriation of land, and the expansion
of monoculture tree plantations into areas formerly covered by native
forest and fertile farmland. The law was passed in 1974, during
the Chilean military dictatorship, which also facilitated the occupation
of Mapuche indigenous territory. Land ownership became concentrated
in the hands of two major economic groups: the Matte family group
(CMPC) and the Angelini group (Copec–Arauco-Celco). The law provides
subsidies amounting to 75% of the net costs of establishing plantations,
in addition to tax exemptions and guaranteed protection against
expropriation of the land.
A few months before announcing this new measure, President Bachelet
had met with high-level executives from these companies to pledge
the government’s contribution of three billion pesos to the Bioenercel
Technological Consortium. This consortium was formed by three major
forestry companies (Arauco, CMPC and Masisa), the University of
Concepción, the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso and
Fundación Chile to conduct research on the production of so-called
second-generation biofuels –specifically, the production of fuel
from pine and eucalyptus biomass- which represents a further incentive
for the increased expansion of monoculture tree plantations.
These latest measures come on top of the government’s ongoing support
and commitment to the goal of an additional one million hectares
of plantations in 10 years. In other words, the new “anti-crisis
forestry measure” reaffirms the government’s support to this sector,
alluding to the fact that it is a sector that is highly sensitive
to the ups and downs of the global economy, since more than 90%
of the wood and pulp produced is exported. These government aid
measures ignore the countless demands of communities who are struggling
to survive surrounded by thousands of hectares of pine and eucalyptus
monoculture plantations, or who suffer from the contamination of
their water as a result of the pulp industry.
Alarmed by this situation, the Foresters'
Association for Native Forests declared in a public statement that
this forestry model “dominated by transnationals that have established
vast areas of alien tree specie monocultures over the last three
decades, accumulating wealth in very few hands and displacing rural
populations,” is not sustainable. They called on the government
to stop granting subsidies to large forestry companies because of
the damage they cause to the environment and water resources, in
addition to the social and cultural impacts on nearby communities.
They urged President Bachelet to halt the growth of tree plantations,
stressing that the Chilean government must not be an accomplice
to this disaster. They also highlighted the urgent need to strengthen
policies for medium- and small-scale agriculture, the sector most
affected by the change in land use, and to develop a democratic
land use management system. (The full statement is available in
Spanish at
http://www.wrm.org.uy/paises/Chile/Ingenieros_Forestales.html)
Meanwhile, 26 Mapuche indigenous, social and environmental organizations
gathered in Temuco for a meeting on “Impacts of Tree Plantations
on Climate Change, Desertification and Drought” and issued a declaration
stating that the current Chilean forestry model is responsible for
the loss of agricultural land, the decrease and disappearance of
underground and surface water sources, the loss of native forest,
and the destruction of the way of life and culture of local communities.
Directed to the government, the declaration further states:
• We condemn the fact that these decisions – which affect many territories
and communities – are adopted bilaterally between the government
and large forestry companies, excluding the communities that suffer
from the expansion of plantations.
• We demand an end to direct and indirect subsidies for the forestry
sector using resources that belong to all of the inhabitants of
Chile and are not meant to favour specific economic groups. It is
time for the state to stop plundering goods and resources that are
public and collective and correspond to the sovereignty of the people.
• We demand the suspension of the measure to increase the resources
allocated to forestry subsidies, the definitive repeal of Decree
Law 701, and the redirection of these resources to support peasant
agriculture and repair the damages caused, in order to foster and
promote local and diversified economies.
The full text of the declaration (in Spanish) is available at:
http://www.wrm.org.uy/paises/Chile/No_expansion_forestal.html
It is important to point out that this meeting – which was not organized
by the government, but rather by the Latin American Environmental
Conflicts Observatory – has been the only forum where the communities
affected by monoculture tree plantations have had the opportunity
to voice their position on this subject. The meeting also served
as a broad-based means of coordination to continue working to demand
an end to government subsidies for forestry companies and to permanently
halt the establishment of large-scale pine and eucalyptus monoculture
plantations.
Latin American Environmental Conflicts Observatory (OLCA),
http://www.olca.cl/oca/index.htm, member
of the Latin American Network Against Monoculture Tree Plantations
(RECOMA).
