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National Forestry Service Moves to Third Legislative Stage

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Ready to be reviewed by the Chamber of Deputies is the bill that creates the new National Forestry Service (Sernafor), a decentralized entity with legal personality and its own assets, under the oversight of the President of the Republic through the Ministry of Agriculture. This entity will serve as the legal successor to the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf).

This follows the Senate's completion of the detailed study and voting on the initiative during this second session.

On this occasion, the Minister of Agriculture highlighted the significance of this legal framework, which aims to protect, promote, conserve, preserve, restore, and sustainably manage the country's forests and other vegetation formations, as well as associated natural components. It also seeks to develop new forests and other formations on lands primarily suited for forestry.

Additionally, he detailed the labor provisions included in the bill, which aim to enhance wildfire protection through special regulations, addressing the occurrence of highly destructive fires by establishing a National Policy for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The bill also seeks to strengthen coordination within the framework of Senapred and Sinapred, while creating new functions for firefighting efforts.

Regarding the personnel of the new National Forestry Service, it was specified that they will be governed by the Labor Code, the provisions of Decree Law No. 249 of 1974 (which sets the unified salary scale), and the modernization allowance under Articles 1 to 8 of Law No. 19,553.

Senator Carmen Gloria Aravena, chair of the Agriculture Committee, agreed on the importance of this legal framework, emphasizing its critical role in implementing the new institutional structure under discussion for wildfire response.

Senator Francisco Chahuán praised the modernization of the current Conaf's institutional framework, "thus addressing a major shortcoming in our state." He also noted that it has been a year since the wildfires in Valparaíso, which claimed 137 lives and destroyed thousands of homes, adding that "investigations point to the responsibility of some in seeking overtime pay."

Senator Ximena Rincón echoed her colleague's remarks, stressing that "there was a mega-fire here, funds were allocated for reconstruction, yet no progress or response has been given to an obvious demand." She also emphasized that "Conaf employee representatives have pointed out that there is no such agreement on the transfer as reported in this bill."

Meanwhile, Senator Sebastián Keitel stated that "this bill addresses crucial issues for the country's future," recalling that the legislation has been under legislative processing for eight years and aims to transform Conaf, with a focus on prevention, mitigation, and penalties.

Senator Alfonso De Urresti highlighted that "a resolution from the Constitutional Court is being fulfilled to establish a new institutional framework for Conaf." He also expressed concerns about the service's functions, where some of its reports could be binding, potentially conflicting with the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service (SBAP) Law.

Senator Alejandro Kusanovic also raised doubts about the "confusion and errors arising from mixing Labor Code norms with administrative statutes," particularly regarding the incorporation of Conaf employees.

Finally, unanimous and unmodified amendments were voted on and approved without opposition, followed by separate votes on each request for division, all of which passed by majority.