CHILEAN PATAGONIA Chronicle of a Death Announced?
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CHILEAN PATAGONIA Chronicle of a death announced? G SANTIAGO, NOVEMBER 2004. 1 PRESENTATION Chilean Patagonia can be identified as the geographic space over the Province of Palena, Aysén Region and Magallanes Region. It is a rich and biodiverse territory in which we can find a great variety of landscapes, together with a variety of different habitats and cultures that, over time, have learned to cope under extreme environmental conditions. The elements combined in the Chilean Patagonia are the result of both biological and physical processes that shape a territory with a very diverse geography, which considerable amounts of endemic flora and fauna. San Rafael Lake and Torres del Paine are probably the best-known parts of Patagonia worldwide. Despite its rich and endemic biodiversity, Patagonia has not been studied comprehensively or appropriately protected. While some 50% of the territory is incorporated into the State-Protected Wild Areas National System (Sistema Nacional de Áreas Silvestres Protegidas del Estado), SNASPE, there are a number of important areas, are still unprotected. Chilean Patagonia, in addition to its importance for the conservation in situ, is recognized for its striking geographical beauty, which holds considerable amounts of potential in terms of ecotourism and its associated revenue. Other countries, such as Costa Rica, provide examples of how this resource can be utilised. Greenpeace has started a campaign for the protection of Patagonia, in order to ensure that this part of the country is not degraded in the way that other areas have been. Easter Island and the center-south zone of Chile, in other times a great source of biodiversity, are paradigmatic examples of the degradation of natural resources that can take place with the “short-term-approach” that national development policies have traditionally followed. The threats that now face Chilean Patagonia are leading us to an unsustainable future. Mining, industrial, aquacultural activities and the introduction of exotic species, lead to questions as to whether the natural resources’ can regenerate in the long term. The degredation of the area is exacerbated by forest fires and erosion. Chile possesses invaluable natural capital in Patagonia. The nature that grows in the southern zone of our country can, and should, be the basis for a sustainable future. Ignorance and the short-term approach of selling off resources in order to get profits from investments in the shortest time possible are threats that must now be addressed. These last few years in Chile, we have witnessed an anti-conservation rise in Patagonia. Pumalín Park has been affected by many official hindrances that have made its transfer to a Chilean foundation difficult. Meanwhile, Valle Chacabuco Ranch was in danger, when a group of businessmen pushed to acquire it and exploit it, regardless of the potential degradation to its lands and ecosystems. A great part of Patagonian resources have no alternative use and the weather conditions allow few productive options. The sensible path to take, from a social and long-term point of view, is conservation. This document, the title of which we have borrowed from the novel by the renowned Colombian Nobel Prize Winner Gabriel García Marquez, that tells the story of a death predicted from the very first chapter and yet does not move the actors to stop it, has been elaborated by Sebastián Tramón, Greenpeace Investigator, under the close supervision of Rodrigo Herrera, Greenpeace Forest Campaign Coordinator. The pictures and design were overseen by Samuel Leiva, Forest Campaign Assistant. The definite text owes its form to the valuable comments of Peter Hartman, CODEF XI Region Subsidiary Director, and Fernando Ramírez, “Bosque Antiguo” Director; who generously participated in this initiative, sharing their knowledge, view and experiences, which we have tried to gather accurately in this report. The document, which compiles information from different studies and researches, has been structured into three chapters, and also a set of recommendations. In the first chapter, the main historical and socio-cultural aspects of the Chilean Patagonia are summarized. In the same way, the value of its ecosystems and its richness in flora and fauna are described. The second chapter 2 analyzes the main threats that Greenpeace sees in the region. In chapter three, the current state of protection and conservation of Chilean Patagonia is analyzed, whether through the SNASPE, priority sites, or through private initiatives. Finally, a set of recommendations is presented, which have been generated to encourage a prolific dialogue among all the actors interested in protecting this part of the national territory. We trust that this document will be a contribution to the necessary discussion about the future of this part of our territory, which is physically so distant, for those who live to the north of it, but so close to our concerns. Our commitment, like Argos, the guardian of the skies, is to keep our eyes constantly open and alert to whatever happens out there. Gonzalo Villarino H. Executive Director 3 INDEX INDEX...............................................................................................................................................................................4 FIRST CHAPTER: CHILEAN PATAGONIA, ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES ON EARTH.........................................6 1. GENERAL INFORMATION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..6 1.1. Geographic Location of Chilean Patagonia……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….6 1.2. Brief Geographic and Weather Description………………………………………………………………………………………………………………7 1.3. Native People of Chilean Patagonia and their later colonization…………………………………………………………………………………8 2. ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE OF CHILEAN PATAGONIA..……………………………………………………………………………………………….8 2.1. Ecosystems.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………8 2.2. Forests and Flora.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..9 2.3. Fauna.……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….10 2.4. Land Resource……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………11 2.5. Water Resource.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………12 SECOND CHAPTER: MAIN THREATS IN CHILEAN PATAGONIA.…………………………………………………………………….14 1. The threat over Template Forests………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..14 1.1. Unsustainable Forest Exploitation…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………15 1.2. Dealerships of Fiscal Grounds under agreement between Private Investors and Government bodies………………………….16 1.3. Use of Firewood………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...17 1.4. Exotic Plantations Establishment………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….18 1.5. Guanaco Farming and Shepherding…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….18 2. Forest Fires, a Historic and Latent Threat.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..18 3. Erosion and Desertification………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..19 4. Mining in Patagonia…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..19 5. Salmon Farming in Patagonia…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….22 6. The Threat of Introduced Species………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………26 7. The Impact of Fishing and Hotel Industry…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..27 8. The roads that divide the forests…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......28 9. Hydroelectric Mega-Projects……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..28 10. Climatic Change and its effect over Patagonia…………………………………………………………………………………………………….29 11. Ozone Layer Reduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….30 THIRD CHAPTER: STATE OF CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION IN PATAGONIA…………………………………………..31 1. Area and Types of Public Protection Zones......………………………………………………………………………………………………….31 2. Private Protected Wild Areas……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………32 3. High-Priority Sites within the Regional Biodiversity Strategies…………………………………………………………………………….33 4. International Projects of Conservation and Protection in Chilean Patagonia…………………………………………………………34 RECOMMENDATIONS……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….36 Regarding to the Protection of Patagonia……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..36 4 Regarding to the threats that endanger Patagonia……………………………………….………………………………………………………………36 ANNEXES……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...38 Annex 1: Climates in Chilean Patagonia……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….38 Annex 2: Use of the area in Chilean Patagonia…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….38 Annex 3: Fauna in Chilean Patagonia………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….38 Annex 4: Hydric Resources in Chilean Patagonia………………………………………………………………………………………………………….39 Annex 5: Property of the Rights over Water………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..40 Annex 6: Production of Sawn Wood…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..40 Annex 7: Sawmill Companies in Chilean Patagonia..……………………………………………………………………………………………………41 Annex 8: Currently Existing Regional Development Strategies in Chilean Patagonia……………………………………………………….42 Annex 9: Sectors in Aysén Region where forest exploitations under breach of management plans were detected…………….43 Annex 10: Fires in Chilean Patagonia during the period 1978 – 1990……………………………………………………………………………43 Annex 11: SNASPE in Chilean Patagonia……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………43 Annex 12: Elements Protected by the National Monuments Council……………………………………………………………………………..44