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56 cases of timber theft have been reported this year in Ñuble

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In Ñuble, timber theft crimes have decreased by 30.9% to date compared to the previous year, according to figures provided by the Regional Prosecutor's Office. According to the official record, 56 cases have been reported this year, compared to 81 recorded on the same date in 2024.

Among them, 12 have a known accused and 44 remain with an unknown accused, figures that reflect the constant presence of this type of illegal activities and also the persistence of sectors where inspections must remain active.

In this scenario, the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf) and the Public Prosecutor's Office held a coordination meeting in the region, with the purpose of strengthening the delivery of background information and complaints about unauthorized logging and illegal timber extraction, crimes that continue to mainly affect native forests.

The director of Conaf Ñuble, Juan Salvador Ramírez Nova, explained that the corporation "is very attentive to inspections due to complaints of illegal logging and timber theft in the Ñuble region, which are 100% handled by our team from the Department of Environmental Assessment and Inspection."

He added that this work is supported "by the collaboration of the community, which plays a fundamental role because it complements the necessary satellite monitoring actions and property inspections to cover the entire regional territory."

Ramírez detailed that in the last five years the corporation has carried out an average of 300 inspections annually, covering more than 15,000 hectares, of which about 1,400 correspond to complaints about illegal activities.

"When such illegal activities are confirmed, our role is to gather the information and file complaints with the Local Police Courts and the Public Prosecutor's Office when it corresponds to a crime of timber theft," he specified.

Bidema

On Thursday, the Environmental and Cultural Heritage Crime Investigation Brigade (Bidema) was inaugurated in Tomé, in the Biobío Region, an entity that will be in charge of investigating, together with the Public Prosecutor's Office, crimes such as pollution, forest fires, damage to wetlands and rivers, as well as impacts on cultural heritage and trafficking of heritage species.

Along with these offenses, the brigade will also be able to investigate the crime of timber theft with scope in Ñuble, so there will be a strengthening in the investigation of these events.

Ramírez mentioned that they hope to strengthen these actions "with the recent establishment of the PDI's Environmental Crime Investigation Brigade (Bidema), based in Tomé, which will handle cases from both Biobío and Ñuble."

The Corporation reminded that illegal logging and timber extraction not only affect the forest heritage but also cause loss of biodiversity, soil degradation, and alterations in water regimes, with a direct impact on communities.

Source:La Discusión