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Forestry Contractors: "Bad Signals and Lost Time Will Come Back to Haunt Us"

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• According to forestry contractors, there is a lack of conditions and legal certainty for companies due to the incompetence, inaction, and ideology of authorities.

The manager of the Association of Forestry Contractors (Acoforag), René Muñoz Klock, insisted that the sector is in crisis, criticizing the lack of government-led initiatives to support the industry, exemplified by the stagnation of bills to create the National Forestry Service (Sernafor) and another related to wildfires.

This crisis scenario is reflected in the loss of hundreds of thousands of hectares of plantations and the departure of companies to markets with better investment conditions.

"The initiatives and actions this government has undertaken regarding the forestry sector show very poor progress," citing that the bill to create Sernafor has yet to be approved by the joint committees of Agriculture, Environment, Climate Change, and National Assets in Congress.

LACK OF PUBLIC POLICIES FOR THE FORESTRY SECTOR

According to Muñoz Klock, "the wildfire bill lacks political backing due to its poor approach and failure to address fires holistically—covering prevention, control, reforestation and/or afforestation, and crime investigation."

He also stated that the bill to promote forestry activity "has not yet been introduced to Congress due to the authorities' lack of conviction in the need to expand planted forests in the country."

He also recalled that "the Forestry Policy Council, which gathers opinions and consensus for the development and consolidation of the forestry sector, is completely paralyzed and lacks the leading role it should have in enforcing the proposals of the National Forestry Policy defined for the 2015-2035 period."

POOR CONDITIONS FOR FORESTRY INVESTMENT IN CHILE

René Muñoz Klock listed several problems plaguing the sector, including "the loss of 350,000 hectares of planted forests and 250,000 hectares of native forests due to wildfires, their high intentionality, the lack of judicial action, and the ongoing violence against forestry workers and contractors in the southern region for 27 years now."

The Acoforag manager also pointed to the announced divestment of "companies CMPC and Arauco to Brazil, a country offering legal conditions and certainties that Chile is unable to provide, whether due to the authorities' incompetence, inaction, or ideology," as another sign of crisis.

CONCERNS OVER LOST TIME IN REFORESTATION

The head of the Association of Forestry Contractors reiterated his concern, stating that in the face of a highly complex scenario, the search for solutions is "too slow" for the sector's real needs.

Muñoz explained that the problems stem from "ad-hoc laws, forestry promotion, or new investments in the industry, meaning we will inevitably have to wait for a planted forest's rotation cycle—between 14 to 22 years—to see results."

"Bad signals and lost time, one way or another, will come back to haunt us," concluded the national forestry leader.

Source: digital print edition ofLatribuna.cl