Environmentalists forge agreement with Chilean companies to protect world’s oldest tree species and most endangered fox
Protection of Critical Nahuelbuta Forest Quadrupled with Addition of 80,000 Acres
Concepción, Chile - Led by ForestEthics, environmentalists from the U.S. and Chile joined Chilean companies Arauco and CMPC to announce the creation of new private protected areas in Chile’s Nahuelbuta region, home to the world’s oldest surviving tree species (araucaria araucana) and its most endangered fox species (pseudalopex fulvipes). The new protected areas will quadruple the existing protection in Nahuelbuta, adding more than 80,000 acres to the current 17,000 acres protected. It will be managed through an innovative model involving collaboration among the landowners, the Chilean government, indigenous communities, scientists and environmentalists.
Linked to other araucaria or “monkey puzzle” forest reserves in the Nahuelbuta region, the new system of connected, protected areas announced today will connect fragments of the ancient Nahuelbuta ecosystem to form a “biological corridor” for endangered species. The new system is the first of its kind in Chile's history where forests, wildlife and ecosystems are often cut off from each other, isolated by clearcuts in massive single-species tree farms that are among the largest in the world. This isolation dooms certain species to extinction.
“To save the world’s last remaining Endangered Forests, we need new models like the one we have announced for Nahuelbuta today,” said Aaron Sanger, Chile Program Director for ForestEthics. ForestEthics led an international markets campaign in 2002 and 2003 to protect endangered forests in Chile, which culminated in commitments from Arauco and CPMC to stop logging in one million acres of native Chilean forests. Since 2003, ForestEthics has led a Joint Solution Project that has become a strong example of environmentalists working with industry to protect endangered forests. It has also changed its focus to the Chilean government’s policies that discriminate against endangered native forests in favor of the non-native trees that dominate Chile’s industrial tree farms.
The turning point in ForestEthics’ campaign—one of the most contentious in Chilean history—came when Arauco and CMPC approved landmark written commitments to prevent native forest destruction and to work with environmental organizations in a “Joint Solutions Project” for further protection of endangered Chilean native forests. Working through the Joint Solutions Project, the companies and the environmentalists have worked to reach agreement on which forests are endangered and need permanent protection. Nahuelbuta’s new private protected areas are the first results of this process to identify and permanently protect all endangered forests owned by Arauco and CMPC.
“Because of the commitments they made, these companies have preserved an invaluable ecological treasure in Nahuelbuta that requires additional protection, as well as restoration,” said Malu Sierra, one of the founders for Defensores del Bosque Chileno. “Since Arauco and CMPC are the largest landowners in Nahuelbuta, it was imperative that they take responsibility to protect and restore this area.”
“We believe that collaboration between business and environmental organizations can create new value,” said Charlie Kimber, Corporate Commercial Director for Arauco. “It not only yields environmental and social benefits; it also creates trust and confidence that can lead to further progress.”
ForestEthics, a nonprofit with staff in Canada, the United States and Chile, recognizes that individual people can be mobilized to create positive environmental change—and so can corporations. Armed with this unique philosophy, ForestEthics has protected more than seven million acres of Endangered Forests. Visit www.ForestEthics.org for more information.
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