Status of Implementation of Forest-Related Clauses in the CBD AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION CHI LE An analysis of Chile’s Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity with a Focus on Forests Written by Miguel Fredes and Enrique Bostelmann, Centro Austral de Devercho Ambiental (CEADA) March 2002 2 This report is part of a series of 21 country reports analysing the implementation of the CBD with a focus on forests. All country reports, as well as a synthesis report compiling and analysing the outcome of the 21 country reports, is available at www.fern.org. Fern has been commissioned to co-ordinate and carry out this research by the Global Forest Coalition. Fern is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that aims to improve European Union policies and practices in order to achieve conservation and sustainable management of forests and respect for the rights of forest peoples. The Global Forest Coalition (GFC) is a group of NGO’s and indigenous peoples organizations (IPO’s) that aim to facilitate the informed participation of NGO’s and IPO’s in intergovernmental processes relating to forests, such as the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Fern UK, 1C Fosseway Business Centre, Stratford Road, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, GL56 9NQ, UK email: info@fern.org 3 Contents I. Introduction II. Executive Summary III. Description of the consultation and questionnaire process used IV. Questionnaire, Answers and Author' s Comments V. Conclusions and Recommendations Appendix 1 Documents Referred to in Preparation of this Report Appendix 2 Contacts and Consultees Appendix 3 Websites 4 I. Introduction In preparation for the Sixth Conference of Parties (COP6) to the CBD, in April 2002 in the Netherlands, the Global Forest Coalition (GFC) has embarked on an international independent review of the progress made in the implementation of the CBD with regard to forests. Under this mandate, the GFC intends to produce monitoring reports on the implementation of government’s commitments related to forests. The current review consists of 21 country reports in the North and South. The outcome of the review will be presented at COP6. A questionnaire was developed by a steering committee consisting of NGO’s, indigenous peoples and researchers to facilitate this assessment and to generate comparable information in each country. A synthesis report based on the 21 country reports will be prepared by Fern UK. The synthesis report as well as the 21 full country reports will be presented at COP6. Focus on Chile’s Forest Chile is located in the southeast quadrant of the globe, on the south western coast of Latin America. The country covers a total of 2,006,626 km2 of which 756,626 km2 corresponds to continental Chile and its oceanic territories. The other 1,250,000 km2 corresponds to Chile’s antarctic territory, is quite large due to the country’s long coastline, is 12 miles wide from the continent and covers a total area of 100,000 km2 . The country is divided into four clear biogeographic bands that run north-south. It is currently divided into 13 administrative regions i. Chile is a unitary state, rather than a state with Federal and sub-Federal jurisdictions, most laws and regulations are applied uniformly throughout the country. The primary temperate forests of Chile, in particular, represent one-third of the remaining primary temperate forests in the world. Close to 45% of the continental area of Chile is suitable for forestry. This area is already covered by forest or by other vegetation. Of these 39 million hectares, 13.4 million ha are native forest, 20.5 million ha are brush and grassland and 2.1 million ha are plantation forests, predominantly Monterrey pine (Pinus radiata D. Don.) (90%). The remaining plantations are eucalyptus and poplars. Almost all productive forest land belongs to private owners. Only National Parks (14 million ha.) and other wildlife protected and public lands (2 million ha.) are under governmental administration. Trade and Forest The United States was the largest purchaser of Chilean forestry products in 2000, importing 19.6 % of the country’s total forestry exports. A 1999 U.S. International Trade Commission Report (publication 3246) shows that Chilean timber production is rising steadily and is projected to double by the year 2025. Compounded with increasing chip and oriented strand board (OSB) exports, international trade pressure is most likely driving both primary forest logging and conversion of natural forests to plantations in Chile. Since December of 1999 Chile has been negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States. Many NGO’s in both Chile and United States made comments regarding the recent document issued by USTR to the public called “Draft Environmental Review of the Proposed U.S.-Chile FTA”. Civil society concerns reflects fear that the proposed U.S.-Chile FTA will have a detrimental impact on the environment, and specifically the forests of Chile. Significant concern is that only an analysis of the impact on the environment of the United States was undertaken without an assessment of the impact on Chile’s environment. (See CEADA’s Trade and Environment Programme at www.ceada.org) Environmental Policy for the sustainable use of Renewable Natural Resources and Forests At the beginning of 2000, Chile’s National Commission for the Environment (CONAMA) published a “Borrador de una Política para el uso sustentable del Patrimonio Natural Renovable” (Draft Policy for the Sustainable Use of the Renewable Natural Heritage) (http:///nuestra_institucion/areas_de_trabajos/u_rrnn/propuesta_politica2.hltm). The working programme to obtain the financial backing for the proposition began during 2001. During this time the listing of the Classification of flora and fauna regulations was continuing. Also during 2001, CONAMA disseminated the results of the “National Forest Inventory” developed by CONAMA and Chile’s National Forest Service called CONAF ii. (http://www2.sinia.cl/catastro/ ). II. Executive Summary Lack of a National Strategy for Conservation of Biological Diversity The Convention on Biological Diversity was ratified by Chile in 1994iii. Nonetheless, Chile has still not developed a national strategy for the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of the forest resources. However, certain efforts by the head of Chile’s National Commission for the Environment (CONAMA)iv can be acknowledged in preparing the document “Synthesis of the Diagnostic and National Plan of Action for Chilean Biodiversity”. Currently, CONAMA is creating a work programme to develop the National Action Plan or Strategy for Biodiversity which will be presented to CONAMA’s Executive Office in March 2002 by the Natural Resources Unit (NRU) of CONAMA. The Natural Resources Unit (NRU) of CONAMA was created in 1996. In general terms the function of the NRU is to undertake the aspects related to natural resources and biodiversity in the processing of institutional tasks. The most concrete activity that has been developed under the framework of the CBD by the Chilean government has been the creation of the Survey and Evaluation of Chilean Vegetative Resources, whose main goal was to obtain basic information for future policies of the conservation of Chile’s native forests. Chile has diverse sectorial regulations with the aim of protecting natural resources and biodiversityv . Indigenous Peoples' Rights On the subject of the traditional knowledge of indigenous communities, Indigenous Law (Ley Indígena) provides in Article 7 that the State recognizes the right of indigenous people to maintain and develop their own cultural traditions. However, Indigenous Law offers limited recognition of indigenous customs, so that said protection does not clearly and explicity refer to indigenous teachings, practices or innovations that incorporate traditional ways of life pertaining to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity according to the mandates of the 6 CBD. This legal void has been denounced by the Working Group called upon recently by the President Ricardo Lagos for the purpose of recommending a set of ideas for the development of the indigenous communities of Chile. The report created by the Working Group proposes the official recognition of indigenous medicine and the protection of native ecosystems containing medicinal plants. Furthermore, the report noted the urgent need for official recognition of indigenous knowledge in such areas as: language, medicine, cosmology, and religion, with ample dissemination and incorporation of daily life into both academic texts and sanitary practicevi. Degree of co-operation received from the Government of Chile in conducting this assessment The government failed to return an official response to the questionnaire in time for inclusion in this report. The questionnaire was sent to the Natural Resources Unit (NRU) of CONAMA, the focal point for the Chilean implementation of the CBD in November 6, 2001. After several personal meetings and telephone contacts at the beginning of November with the NRU, CEADA reached a verbal agreement with Vicente Paille, official of the NRU, to obtain from the Government the answers on November 28, 2001, in order then, to disseminate them to other prominent actors called to this initiative for their comments. A meeting was agreed and attended by government and non-government actors. The CEADA team was represented by Enrique Bostelmann, Laura Meza and Daniel Alvarez. Also attending the meeting was Dominique Hervé, Researcher of the Center for Environmental Law of University of Chile, Eduardo Morales and María Inés Miranda, both from Fundación Chile (the Chile Foundation) and Horacio Merlet of SAG (Chile's Cattle and Agricultural Service)vii. To the surprise of all the participants of the November meeting, and the rest of the selected stakeholders, up to January 7, 2002, the NRU has not responded to one single question on the questionnaire, delaying the preparation of a non-governmental country report that reflects the official position of the government and of the other foreign and national actors. Facing such an uncomfortable situation, CEADA requested an urgent meeting with the head authority of the CONAMA, Mr Gianni Lopez on December 6, 2000. A further request for a meeting was made in a fax on January 4, 2002. The NRU responded finally on January 8, 2002. III. Description of the consultation and questionnaire process used This questionnaire formed the basis of the environmental review and was submitted to the Executive Director of CONAMA (National Environmental Commission), the public agency responsible for Chile's co-ordination of the environmental policy and management, Gianni López, and to the NRU of CONAMA, Jaime Rovira and Vicente Paielle of Chile' s CBD Focal Points. CEADA held various meetings with the NRU to explain the purpose of the questionnaire, bringing it a copy of all the questions in Spanish to facilitate NRU’s work. 7 The questionnaire and the letter were also copied to significant numbers of organizations representing industry, academic and research centres, and environmental NGO's (see appendix 2) with an invitation to comment on the government' s response when it was received. The government's response was received from CONAMA on January 8 and circulated to the organizations for comments, as we expressed above. The final draft will be send to the Chile focal points for final comments and corrections. Nevertheless, CONAMA' s comments or corrections will not be included in this final report due to the tight deadline for the preparation of this document. As it was explained above, CONAMA delivered the responses on January 8, 2002, missing the opportunity of receiving comments from the organizations mentioned in appendix 2. IV. Questionnaire, Answers and Author' s Comments Question 1. Has the government sent its national report on the implementation of the CBD to the CBD secretariat? If yes, when? Answer: No, but it expects to deliver it before the VI Conference of the Parties of the Convention. Question 2. Has the government sent its thematic report on forest ecosystems to the CBD secretariat? If yes, when? Answer: No, at present a government report is being prepared with relation to the work programme adopted by the decision IV/7 of OSACTT-7. Question 3. Has a national biodiversity strategy been developed, adopted and implemented? If yes, at which date has it been adopted? If adopted, please give a brief description of the state of implementation. Answer: No. The process of elaboration of the strategy is currently in progress. Material is being finished that supports the execution of participatory diagnostic at a regional level, which will begin in March of 2002. These diagnoses will be the basis on which to identify priorities and formulation of ideas and lines of action at a regional level. The results will permit the formulation of a strategy and plan of action at a national level during the second semester of 2002. Author' s comments: Neither a national policy, a national strategy nor a relative programme exist for the conservation of biological diversity. All the efforts carried out to the date refer to the biographical recompilation of scientific studies, human resources, the available collections and the state of conservation of some native species. A current government promise is to deliver a final proposal of Environmental Policy for the Sustainable Use of the Renewable Natural Heritage that would include a National Strategy for Biological Diversity. 8 Question 4. Has a national forest plan/programme been developed, adopted and implemented, as part of the governments' commitment to the IPF process? Answer: No in terms of a programme. However, the government is incorporating contents developed in the framework of the intergovernmental panel of Forests in the strategic features for the development of the forests sector. Author' s comments: No document exists that specifies the position of the government with regard to a national forests strategy. It has only developed the National Registration of Vegetative Resources Natives to Chile, which has developed a global idea of the location, surface, type and the state of intervention of the native forests of Chile. Question 5. Is the national biodiversity strategy integrated in the national forest plan/programme? If yes, describe in what way. If not, is there an explanation why not? Answer: No, consequently the national application of both processes is currently in the early phase of development. Author' s comments: The absence of a National Strategy of Biological Diversity and a National Plan for Forests Conservation has caused the government efforts to be marginal, isolated and focus mainly upon individual species or precise geographical areas. Question 6. Is the national forest plan/programme integrated in the national biodiversity strategy and action plan? If yes, describe in what way. If not, is there an explanation why not? Answer: No, consequently the national application of both processes is currently in the early phase of development. Author' s comments: The absence of documents that undertake these themes and permit the development of a strategy that unites the conservation and the sustainable management of the ecosystems, as of the species threatened that compose them, explains why some of the causes and threats persist, in spite of the efforts that are carried out for conservation, from competent government agencies and NGO's. Question 7. Has an inventory taken place of all activities that are likely to have significant negative impacts on the conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity? If yes, describes these activities. Answer: Not as an expressed objective. However, different studies and projects have determined factors and prominent activities, see for example University of Chile, Informe País, Estado del Medio Ambiente en Chile (Country Report, State of the Environment in Chile, 1999). 9 Author' s comments: An official inventory that details the threats and activities that affect the different forests types of Chile does not exist. The National Inventory of Vegetative Resources does not indicate the precise activities that significantly affect each of the forests types nor does it recommend actions destined to establish a uniform criteria for the control of these. Consensus upon the threats that affect the global pattern of the native forests in Chile exist but the information is mainly of statistical character and does not indicate political lines of action to face these impacts. Question 8. Are these activities monitored? If yes, describes briefly the monitoring process? Answer: In some cases there is direct monitoring e.g. the programme of fire management. In other cases, although there is no monitoring, diverse instruments allow an approximation of the impact of diverse activities in relation to forests, among these the National Inventory of Vegetative Resources of 1994 (www.conaf.cl/html/mapa/mapa_sitio.html) and its process of monitoring that ensures the annual updating of around 20% of the national territory, and consequently, of all the territory every five years. Author' s Comments: The major part of the monitoring of forests activities in native forests is carried out by NGO's such as CODEFF (www.codeff.cl) and the Coastal Range Coalition (www.ccc.terra.cl). Regional inventories or monitoring public records also exist developed by the National Forest Corporation (CONAF) but are not always accessible to the public. The independent monitoring carried out by CODEFF and a team of specialists from the Universidad Austral of Chile agrees that the substitution of native forests by forests plantation is a present danger that affects the extensions of renewal mainly in the coastal mountain range along the central-southern zone. Statistics of the Instituto Forestal (Forestry Institute) indicate that during the period 1960-1990, 1331.787 hectares were substituted among the regions VII to X. The studies of CONAF during 1997 indicate that the substitution of native forests for the period 19851994 would be equal to 140.007 hectares in all the country, indicating that this activity would represent 63% of the total native forests surface destroyed during the period mentioned. Question 9. If a significant negative effect of a particular process or activity has been determined, has that activity or process subsequently been regulated or managed? Answer: In general terms the answer is yes, if negative effects exist, for example like negatives effects identified in fire control programmes of CONAF (Chile’s National Forest Service), and the programme of control of illegal logging. Author' s comments: Regarding the direct threats upon the species, the habitat and the forests ecosystems have important impacts from the logging activities, firewood production and the substitution of native forests by exotic plantations. While the forests of the central zone of Chile suffer from great pressure due to the demand for farming space and forests fires that are not sufficiently controlled, the forests of the south-central and southern regions suffer the degradation created by the substitution of exotic plantations of rapid growth. CONAF’s fire programme has 10 been incapable of managing uncontrolled fire. During February and March of 2002, uncontrolled fires have consumed at least 53,000 hectares of land, a third of which destroyed prized native trees species found only in Chile. An additional problem is that important ecosystems and forest species are absent from, or are poorly represented in, the National System of Wildlife Protected Areas (SNASPE). Question 10. Have all stakeholders, including indigenous peoples and environmental NGO's, been invited to contribute to the assessment of status and trends, including gaps and priority actions needed to address threats to forest biological diversity? Answer: This is an explicit intention of the regional phase of the formulation process of the Strategy and Plan of Action for Biodiversity that will be initiated in March of 2002. Author' s comments: The indigenous communities have not been consulted on the elaboration of programmes, strategies or policies oriented for the conservation of the components of biological diversity, their cultural activities and their ancestral knowledge of the use of resources and the creation of agreements at a national level, for the sustainable use of these. Question 11. Has a system of protected areas been established? Answer: Yes, presently the System possesses 94 units constituted by 31 National Parks, 40 National Reservations, 15 Natural Monuments, the ones that in total cover an approximate surface of 14 million hectares, equivalent to 19% of the national territory. Author' s comments: The National System of Wildlife Protected Areas (SNASPE) only includes units in public lands, the ones that concentrate mainly in the extreme regions of the country and mainly in the Andes area. Although it has permitted the protection of certain types of forests, such as the forests of Araucaria, the Evergreen Forests and Temperate Evergreen Forests of the southern zone, the System does not include a vast native quantity of forests very threatened by urban expansion. Cases exist where the representation of protected forests does not approach 1%, such as the Hualo oak tree. On the other hand, the majority of the forest types with poor representation are found in lands of forestry corporations in the VII, VIII and IX regions. The technical and human lack of resources of CONAF in some units of the National System of Wildlife Protected Areas (SNASPE) has resulted in illegal exploitation of woods species legally protected, such as the Alerce in region X, or the hunting of species in danger of extinction such as the Huemul or Andean Deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus) in the valleys of protected Fjords inside the Bernardo O’Higgins National Park. The innovative experiences of the areas for protection are carried out in Chile by NGO's with the objective of establishing private public mechanisms of management for the conservation of the natural heritage of the country. The long-range objective is to generate consensus concerning the possibilities of the creation of incentives for the participation of the owners of native forestlands. In this context, it should be emphasized that the CODEFF Program established a Wildlife Network of Privately Owned Protected Areas (RAPP). Another non-governmental initiative is developed by CIPMA by means of a GEF Project for the 11 "Conservation of Biodiversity in the Ecoregion of Temperate Rainforest of Valdivia ", http://www.cipma.cl/GEF/inicio.htm. Question 12. If yes, are there any land-right claims or disputed areas in the protected areas? Answer: There are some specific situations. If yes, how has the government dealt with these? Answer: Seeking to harmonize the general and private interests. Author' s comments: The territorial demands of rural, native and fishing communities are concentrated mainly in the northern extreme regions of Chile, regions I and II; the south-centre regions, V, VIII and IX; and the southern regions, X and XI. In the north of the country, the native demands of Aymará communities claim ancestral territorial spaces which were not considered as "private land" at the time the protected areas were declared. Indigenous formal land petitions exist on the part of this Etnia in the National Parks: Lauca and Volcan Isluga; the National Reserves of Las Vicuñas and Surire Saltflat National Monument. The actual demands are upon the property and use of the bofedals and grasslands, (Bofedales of Parinacota, Enquelga, Vegas and Surire Saltflat); hydraulic resources (Lauca River, Cotacotani Ponds, Chungará Lake, Surire Saltflat, Polloquere), subterranean napes, estuaries; spaces of ceremonial uses, cultivation terraces, and cultural spaces, (Towns of Enquelga, Isluga, Parinacota and Guallatire). All these demands are intimately linked to the extensive cattle raising activities due to the development of camelids and other forraging eaters, the ones that are mainly living off the etnia Aymará. In the case of the Rapa Nui, Mapuches and Huilliches communities in the fifth, ninth and tenth region, respectively, they understand the existence of protected areas as a territorial usurpation and an impediment for the development of their ancestral activities. This situation is created mainly in the National Parks: Rapa Nui, Villarrica and Chiloé; and the National Reserves Ralco and Galletue. Other demands refer to disputes of land among members of distinct communities or among families of the communities. In some cases the State of Chile has preferred to surrender those lands demanded by the communities as in the case of the National Park Chiloé, Rio Anay section and Lago Cucao, where it gave away 2.796,51 ha and in the Rapa Nui National Park, 1.400 ha. In the remainder of cases attempts have been made to balance the needs of the indigenous communities in the plans of territorial unit forests management of the National System of Wildlife Protected Areas of Chile (SNASPE). Question 13. Is there a system in place to regulate or manage biological resources important for the conservation of biological diversity whether within or outside protected areas? Answer: Yes, the legal framework is found in the Forests Law, D.S. 366 of 1994 of protected species, the CITES Convention, the Hunting Law and its regulation which establish regulations to the exploitation of the flora and wild fauna. 12 Author's comments: The management and exploitation of forests resources is guided by the Forest Law of 1931 and the Decree Law 701 of Forests Promotion and its regulations. Decree Law 701, regulates forestry activities and encourages afforestation in soil particularly suited to forestry, in degraded soils, and by small landowners, under certain conditions. One purpose of this law is to promote afforestation, which is the conversion of cleared land to forests, in order to prevent soil degradation. Decree Law 701 contains a provision (Article 42) which authorizes approval by CONAF of management plans “contemplating reforestation with species different from those felled only when this does not affect endangered, vulnerable, rare, or insufficiently known species.” The management plan, which is required for the use of all public and private forests in Chile, and other requirements of Decree Law 701 operate independently of the environmental impact assessment requirements of Law 19.300 (Chile’s National Environmental Policy Act). Question 14. Has action been taken towards the implementation of Article 8 (j) and related provisions? Answer: There are actual diverse initiatives such as the Mapulahual indigenous parks network in the Cordillera de la Costa (Coastal Range) in Region 10 of Chile. Likewise, there is a process of creating two projects of great scale by the Global Environmental Fund (GEF), for the conservation of evergreen forest and for the establishment of protected coastal marine areas with the objective to incorporate in a more important manner the indigenous communities. Question 15. Is there a programme to strengthen indigenous and local communities’ participation in the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan? Answer: No, due to the fact that the National Plan of Action and Strategy has not been formulated. However, a tendency exists to generate actual initiatives that try to strengthen the participation of local and indigenous communities in the conservation of biological diversity. It should also be reflected as a line of action in the formulation of the strategy or plan of action. Author' s comments: Unfortunately, the plans for the development of the indigenous communities are centered almost completely in the acquisitions of private lands in order to regulate the land and water rights of the communities. Question 16: Has legislation been developed for the protection of threatened forest species and populations? Answer: Yes, Chile counts on a legal framework constituted by the Forests Law, but since the mid-nineties, that legislation has been strengthened with the Decree Supreme 366 of 1994 of protected species, the Hunting Law and its regulations, and at present the government works in the elaboration of a regulation related to the classification of species in categories of conservation in the framework of Law 19.300 (1994). 13 Author's comments: Chile does not have specific endangered species legislation. Nevertheless, there are several laws pertinent to CITES and international wildlife trade, including Forest Law, the Hunting Law (1929, amended in 1996) which authorized Chilean authorities to declare closed seasons and other measures for native terrestrial and aquatic fauna, including prohibiting hunting of endangered, vulnerable, rare, and insufficiently known animal species or species classified as beneficial for forestry . This legislation does not establish regulations for the export of native CITES-listed species and does not apply to flora or to most aquatic fauna. In addition, Article 37 of Law 19.300, (Chile’s Environmental Policy Act) states that the regulations "shall establish the procedure for classifying species of wild flora and fauna, based on technical and scientific data," and Article 38 states that the pertinent State authorities "shall prepare and maintain an updated inventory of wild species of flora and fauna, and shall enforce compliance with standards restricting the cutting, capture, hunting, trade and transport thereof, in order to adopt actions and measures to maintain biological diversity and conserve such species." These inventories are said to give preference to species classified under the conservation categories of: extinguished, endangered, vulnerable, rare, and insufficiently known. Application of this portion of Law 19.300 is still in its development stage after 8 years. No integrated body of laws exists for vegetative species in Chile. While the hunting of endangered species is illegal, habitat destruction is essentially uncontrolled. For example, critically endangered species such as the southern river otter (Lontra provocax), considered endangered in Chile, face ongoing and extremely rapid habitat destruction. Question 17. Is there a programme in place to protect and encourage customary use of biological resources in accordance with traditional cultural practices? If yes, describe the programme. If not, why not? Is such a programme planned for the future? Answer: Not as a global programme. However, diverse specific instances are directed to that objective as the programmes of management of the Vicuña as a group with indigenous communities of the etnia aimara that was developed by CONAF. The Vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) is a wild species of camelid that inhabits the Andean Zone, in the extreme north of Chile and in the past was near extinction. Currently, the important conservation efforts of CONAF (National Forest Corporation), for almost two decades, through the execution of its project of the "Conservation and Management of the Vicuña ", has led to the recuperation of the species. The increase in the population of vicuñas, as well as the knowledge accumulated relating to their conservation in the wild state, made an economic alternative of production for the benefit of the Andean settler, by establishing a "Plan of Development for the Community Aymara through the Sustainable use of the Vicuña". Author’s comments: In 1985, vicuña population reached a number that motivated governmental experts to consider the sustainable use of the species, through capture, sharing and release techniques. With the aim of preparing this following phase, an international workshop was organized in 1985 –with support from IUCN- to analyze the techniques and professional skills needed to begin the sustainable use of the vicuña. 14 Question 18. Are local populations supported to develop and implement remedial action in degraded forest areas? If yes, give examples. If not, why not? Answer: Yes, for example the project "Conservation and Sustainable Management of the Native Forest" (CSMNF) that is carried ahead by the Department of Agriculture through the National Forest Corporation (CONAF), the German institutions, Institute of Credit for the Reconstruction (KFW), German Service of Social Technical Cooperation (DED) and GTZ. This initiative responds to the need for protection and rational use of the Native Forest. The project intends to incorporate Native Forest surfaces to forestry management, in order to assure that the owners of this resource are capable of carrying ahead their utilization in a maintained form and to thus count, with regular incomes that will improve their conditions of life. The project "Model Forest Chiloé" (Bosque Modelo Chiloé) created in 1998 consists of an innovative association among the local government and NGO's, rural and indigenous communities, private organizations and the Catholic Church to promote the rational use of natural resources. This common effort permits the analysis and the understanding of environmental problems from different points of view, enriching the number of solutions and facilitating action. In this way, one can show how the local associations can unite all the groups of interest in order to develop a common vision of the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable administration of the forest, as well as to improve the conditions of life of the rural family and the indigenous communities. After three years of operation, Bosque Modelo Chiloé has supported nearly fifty projects. Author' s comments: The economic incentives are modest in comparison with the extensive surfaces of the country that are affected by erosion and losses of soils. Technological enhancements are insufficient because it does not permit any long-term monitoring of the development and application of the knowledge acquired, in the privately owned lands that have benefited from subsidies and training programmes. Question 19. Have incentives been developed, adopted and implemented for the conservation and sustainable use of forest biological diversity? If yes, describes these incentives Answer: Law 19.300 (1994) establishes in Article 35 that the State will promote and provide incentives for the creation of privately owned protected wildlife areas, which will be subject to the same tax treatment, rights, obligations and burdens of those that belong to the National System of State-Protected Wildlife Areas (SNASPE). The regulation whose approval is contemplated for 2002 will establish the requirements, time limit and general limitations of the application that the licenses should be complied with to enjoy, to exercise the rights and to give fulfillment to the obligations and duties. Author's comments: The incentives mentioned by CONAMA’s response are not in force since specific provisions subject to Article 35 of Law 19.300 have not been enacted yet. There are forest incentives such as bonus payments for the reforestation of degraded soils and of forests aptitude, for small and medium owners, established in article 9 of Law 19.561 of 1998, that modified the Decree law 701 of 1974 upon forest promotion. However, the reforestation is done almost completely with species introduced of rapid growth. 15 Question 20. Have appropriate procedures been developed and implemented that require environmental impact assessments of projects that are likely to have significant negative impacts on biological diversity? If yes, briefly describe the EIA procedure. Answer: Yes, the contents in Law 19.300 and regulations. To see: http://www.conama.cl/htm/gestion_amb.htm Author’s comments: Under Law 19.300, a wide segment of new or modified projects proposed by private industry, as well as those proposed by the public sector, are either subject to a fullscale environmental impact study, or an environmental statement affirming compliance with all applicable environmental laws, regulations, and standards currently in effect. Depending on the magnitude of the project subject to the Environmental Impact Assessment System, or on the significance of its potential effects on the environment, either the complete environmental impact study or the environmental impact statement is required. Regulations in the Law 19.300 provide for the mandatory inclusion of various projects, such as: oil and gas pipelines and other comparable facilities; forestry development projects on fragile soils or in native forest, cellulose, pulp and paper mills, chipping plants, lumber dressing facilities, and sawmills of industrial dimensions; and many other types of projects. Generally speaking, the categories of projects subject to environmental assessment in Chile are broad. However, assessment of the cumulative impacts of projects is not required for many types of activities, such as: agroindustries, housing development projects with fewer than 80 units in a rural area or fewer than 160 units within urban perimeters; forestry development projects that take place on less than 20 hectares of land, such as the harvesting of trees on small plots of land for conversion into wood chips for export; and many others. Question 21. Are there any plans to expand the EIA procedure to a Strategic Impact Assessment (SIA) Procedure? Answer: Conama is prompting the Strategic Environmental Evaluation, which is a preventive environmental instrument of management. In that framework, CONAMA published the document "Evaluación Ambiental Estratégica: Aplicaciones y Potencialidades para Chile" (Strategic Environmental Evaluation: Applications and Potentialities for Chile). This publication brings to light the details of all exposed during a seminar organized in the middle of 2001 by the NGO Casa de la Paz, the Center of Development Studies (CED) and CONAMA, that treated the experience of other countries in the application of the Strategic Environmental Evaluation (SIA), especially in areas of interest of environmental protection in Chile. The publication includes the vision of CONAMA regarding the SIA and its application in the evaluation of the regulating plans and in territorial planning. In addition the publication addresses the management of the coastal border and the conservation of biodiversity, both matters with potential application of the SIA. 16 V. Conclusions and Recommendations The rate of destruction of native forests is one of the major conservation problems in Chile. The main cause of this process is the conversion of native forests to Radiata Pine and Eucalyptus plantations and logging for the production of wood chips, firewood, sawn wood, and veneers. Other causes include human-set forest fires and conversion to agricultural land and serious failures to enforce forest legislation. During February and March of 2002, uncontrolled fires have consumed at least 53,000 hectares of land, a third of which prized native trees species found only in Chile. An additional problem is that important ecosystems and forest species are absent from, or are poorly represented in the National System of Wildlife Protected Areas (SNASPE). On the other hand, during the past 10 years Chile has been deliberating over a bill of law referred to as the Native Forest Protection Law, with the goal of finding an equilibrium among the economical, social, and environmental interests associated with forests resources. Due to the controversy that arose over the contents of the bill, the Chilean Congress has been unable to enact this forest protection legislation. Therefore, urgent changes in forest conservation and management policies are required. These changes should promote a balanced development of forestry based both on tree plantations and managed native forests. The legal system of Chile has not implemented the international commitments assumed by the ratification of the CBD. In the first place, still pending is the wording of the wildlife protection regulations for areas privately-owned and the classification of species according to their state of conservation. legal voids that impede an adequate protection of zones and species, necessary for the conservation of biological diversity. Besides, the introduction and liberation of "exotic" species or "genetically modified species" should be included in Article 10 of Law 19.300, and therefore, be submitted to the Environmental Impact Evaluation System. We recommend that the following State policies and regulations: 1) promote the sustainable management of native forests and means of subsidies, training, technical assistance, and research; 2) support the expansion of the SNASPE; 3) raise enforcement of existing environmental laws; 4) enact the Native Forest Law; and 5) develop a national policy to involve private land owners of native forest to the biodiversity conservation strategies. Such actions should lead to a reduction of the environmental and social impacts of the destruction of native forests and biodiversity, as well as to improve the quality of life of the local population and indigenous people. 6) implement wildlife protection legislation and dictate modalities referred to conservation ex situ such as banks of genes, banks of seeds, banks of sperm and ovaries, the collections in vitro of weaves of plants and germ cultivation and botanical gardens among others. 17 7) Set controlled measures of the processes that can damage biological diversity of national flora, since the Hunting Law only refers to the introduction and liberation of "exotic" species of wild fauna. The recent debates over the use of native forests reveals the need to promote the participation of the different stakeholders involved in the negotiations and public decision-making. This would facilitate reaching agreements over key issues. Regarding the native participation of communities and civil society in the process of evaluation of the state, the tendencies and necessary priority actions to face threats to the biodiversity of the forests, regulations do not exist in Chile that promote the consideration of biodiversity conservation in the national processes of public adoption of decisions, neither the integration of the sustainable use of biodiversity in the plans, projects, policies and planning of development. Consequently, it is recommended to the State of Chile to carry out a legal modification to Article 10 of Law 19.300 in order to that within the projects and activities that should be submitted to the Environmental Impact Evaluation System, it should also include published plans, programs and policies for the conservation of biodiversity and natural resources. Finally, although Chile has ratified the CBD, it has not affected much its environmental and forest policies. Implementation of CBD decisions seems to be very limited and has not involved multi-stakeholder processes. Appendix 1 Documents Referred to in Preparation of this Report § ¿Que Futuro Tiene Nuestros Bosques? Hacia la Gestión Sustentable del Paisaje del Centro y Sur de Chile. Eduardo Fuentes, Edt. Universidad Católica de Chile, 1994. § Perfil Ambiental de Chile, CONAMA, 1994. § Conservación y Uso sostenible de la Diversidad Biológica en América Latina. FAO/PNUMA Documento Técnico Nº 18, 1995. § Diversidad Biológica de Chile, 1995. Comité Nacional de Diversidad Biológica de Chile; J. Simonetti, Arroyo, Spotorno y Lozada Edts. CONICYT, 1995. § Libro Rojo de los Sitios Prioritarios para la Conservación de la Diversidad Biológica en Chile. M. Muñoz, M. Núñez y J. Yánez Edts, CONAF, 1996. § Ecología de los Bosques Nativos de Chile. J. Armesto, C. Villagrán y M. T. K. Arroyo, Eds 1997. 18 § Conservación de Humedales. Taller Bases para la Conservación de Humedales de Chile. M. Muñoz y P. Möller Edits., CEA, 1997. § Primer Borrador Informe Final: Proyecto Elaboración del Anteproyecto de Reglamento que fija los procedimientos para la clasificación de especies de fauna y flora silvestres en Categorías de conservación. Pablo Marquet para CONAMA, 1998. § Catastro y Evaluación de Recursos Vegetacionales Nativos de Chile; CONAF CONAMA, 1999. § Informe País: Estado del Medio Ambiente en Chile; 1999. Universidad de Chile, PNUMA, CONAMA, 1999. § Informe Final Análisis y Diseño Metodológico para la Elaboración de Planes de Manejo en Áreas Silvestres Protegidas Privadas. J V. Oltremari K. D. Thelen; FAO - CONAMA, 1999. § Una Política Ambiental para el Desarrollo Sustentable; CONAMA 2000. § Programa de Armonización y Sistematización de la Normativa ambiental Chilena. MC. Plumer Editores, Universidad de Chile y CONAMA, 2001. § Los Tratados Ambientales: Principios y Aplicación en Chile. S. Montenegro, D. Hervé, V. Duran; MC. Plumer Edt, Universidad de Chile y CONAMA 2001. § Proyecto Eco región Valdiviana, mecanismos público privados para la conservación de la biodiversidad. C. Sepúlveda para CIPMA, 2001. Appendix 2 Contacts and Consultees The following were invited to comment on the Government's response to the questionnaire: Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero, SAG. Chile. Horacio Merlet; Director of Natural Resources Office of Agriculture and Livestock Service. E-mail Address(es): hmerlet@sag.gob.cl Comité Pro Defensa de la Fauna y la Flora, CODEFF. Jenia Jofré; National Director of CODEFF. E-mail Address(es):presidencia@codeff.cl 19 Hernán Verscheuer; Forest Program Director, CODEFF. E-mail Address(es): bosque1@codeff.cl Movimiento Agroecológico de Chile, MACH. Patricio Yánez, Nacional Director, MACH. E-mail Address(es): mach@rdc.cl Fundación Chile, Forestry Certification. Eduardo Morales (Program Director). E-mail Address(es): emorales@fundch.cl María Inés Miranda (Program Associate) E-mail Address(es): mmiranda@fundch.cl Fundación Sociedades Sustentables. María Isabel Manzur, Director of the Biodiversity Program E-mail Address(es): sustenta@rdc.cl Centro de Derecho Ambiental de la Universidad de Chile. Dominique Hervé. Researcher E-mail Address(es): dherve@derecho.uchile.cl Fundación Senda Darwin. Ph.D. Juan Armesto. President E-mail Address(es): jarmesto@uchile.cl Appendix 3 Websites § Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero - www.sag.gob.cl § Comisión Nacional del Medio Ambiente, CONAMA. Chile - www.conama.cl § Corporación Nacional Forestal, CONAFF, Chile - www.conaf.cl § Comité Pro Defensa de la Fauna y la Flora, CODEFF. Chile - www.codeff.cl § Fundación Chile - www.fundch.cl § Programa de Certificación Forestal en Chile. - www.certforchile.cl - www.certforchile.org § Corporación Nacional de la Madera; CORMA. Chile - www.corma.cl 20 § Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica; CONICYT. Chile www.conicyt.cl § CBD - www.biodiv.org § Centro de Investigación y Planificación del Medio Ambiente; CIPMA - www.cipma.cl § Fundación Sociedades Sustentables y Programa Chile Sustentable - www.chilesustentable.net § Museo Nacional de Historia Natural - www.mnhn.cl § Sociedad de Botánica de Chile - www.udec.cl/-botanica/ § Coalicción para la Conservación de la Cordillera de la Costa- www.ccc.terra.cl § Corporación Nacional de Desarrollo Indígena; CONADI - www.conadi.cl § Defensores del Bosque Chileno - www.elbosquechileno.cl § Fundación Terram – www.terram.cl i To see a map of Chile’s regions check: http://www.conama.cl/nuestra_institucion/areas_de_trabajos/u_regiones/regiones/mapa_regiones.htm ii CONAF is responsible for overseeing and controlling forestry projects and must approve the related forestry project management plan. To the extent the proposed project may affect native forests and certain other natural resources, the project participants must address the restrictions imposed by Chile's Forestry Law. In the event t he proposed project may affect certain public lands designated as national wildlife areas, consideration must also be given to the standards and procedures provided under a law, pending but not yet in force, concerning a national system for the protection of such wildlife areas called SNASPE. iii Ratified by Chile on September 9, 1994, and promulgated as a national law in 1995, by virtue of the Ministry of Foreign Relations Supreme Decree 1,963 of 1994. iv The Environmental Law (19.300) accords environmental responsibilities to all government ministries, and established the National Commission for Environment (CONAMA) to fulfill a coordinating role. CONAMA is a legal entity functioning under the supervision of the President of the Republic through the Ministry General Secretariat of the Presidency. The Minister of Secretary General of the Presidency leads CONAMA’s Board of Directors, which consists of Ministers from 13 departments. An Advisory Council is used by the Board to gather a cross-section of opinions, and to fulfill other legal requirements.CONAMA is managed by an Executive Director and administered through a decentralized public service via Regional Commissions for Environment (COREMAS). The Executive Director is responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of the law, and for carrying out the agreements and guidelines set by CONAMA’s Board of Directors. COREMAS are the organizations through which the mandate of CONAMA is carried out in Chile’s 13 administrative regions. Each COREMAS is governed by a group consisting of the Regional Governor (Intendente), who is also the Chair, the governors and regional secretaries of the Ministries sitting on the Board of Directors, four regional councilors, and a Regional Director of CONAMA. COREMAS have responsibilities under laws of the republic but may also develop regional policies for the protection and enhancement of the local environment. v Chile’s Forest Law of 1931 establishes regulations governing the protection of forests on the ba nks of springs and on grounds with slopes of 45 percent or greater. Furthermore, this law empowers the President of the Republic to create national parks and forest reserves. Among the laws enacted after 1931, the Ministry of Land and Settlement issued Executive Order 366 in 1944 prohibiting the exploitation of certain species. vi Informe Grupo de Trabajo Política Indígena, Santiago, mayo de 2000. Capítulo I: Comisión Sociedad y Cultura. vii SAG contributes to the agricultural development of the country by conserving and preserving renewable natural resources required for agricultural output. It is also responsible for ensuring compliance with legal standards and regulations on the prevention and eradication of plant pests and contagious animal diseases. 21