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One Hundred Thousand Hectares of Forests Have Not Been Reforested After Mega-Fires

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A total of 23,290 hectares of forests, along with 53 areas of scrubland and grasslands, have been devastated across the country during the current wildfire season, from July 1, 2024, to yesterday. This area adds to the more than 100,000 hectares that, according to the Chilean Wood Corporation (Corma), have not been recovered following the mega-fires from the 2017 to 2023 seasons. Industry groups explain that this land belongs to small and medium-sized landowners.

"Post-fire reforestation shows significant inequality. Large forestry companies have undertaken recovery efforts on their plantation and native forest lands, but small and medium-sized landowners have been unable to do so due to a lack of resources," says the national president of Corma, Rodrigo O'Ryan.

Regarding the processing of the wildfire bill, the forestry sector has emphasized the need to consider not only preventive measures but also the pillars of firefighting, criminal prosecution (in cases of alleged arson), and restoration or recovery, which involves reforestation.

Other Mechanisms

"If the future wildfire law does not include forest recovery and reforestation, it is crucial to implement other support mechanisms, such as those currently being evaluated by the Ministry of Agriculture," O'Ryan stresses. He explains that, according to the government, "a new Promotion Law is being studied, which would provide direct incentives for afforestation and reforestation of areas affected by fires." The leader anticipates that the Executive Branch "aims to have a proposal ready by March." The goal would be to afforest 10,000 hectares per year. Although this figure is lower than the 20,000 hectares annually committed by Chile, it exceeds the 1,500 hectares averaged in recent seasons.

Michel Esquerre, president of the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Wood Entrepreneurs (Pymemad), explains the reasons preventing his members from recovering after a disaster. "A small landowner who has invested their income over 20 years and suffers a fire is left without resources. That’s why state support is so crucial," he emphasizes.

Regarding how reforestation support should operate, the Pymemad representative believes that "this contribution must be direct; therefore, a property and its owner are identified, and planting is carried out."

"Reforestation Is a Good Deal for the State"

Esquerre points out that "reforestation is a good deal for the state," as "for every million pesos invested, after 15 to 20 years, it recovers over 5 million pesos, because it regains the investment plus financial costs." He details that this includes value-added and income taxes, among others. "The cost of reforesting one hectare ranges between one million and 1.5 million pesos," reveals Esquerre.

René Muñoz, manager of the Association of Forestry Contractors, notes that "on burned land that has not been reforested or managed, natural vegetation regeneration occurs, which becomes fuel for future fires, with 300,000 to 400,000 plants per hectare."

At the next Viña del Mar Festival Gala, an entry fee of S3,000 will be charged to the public, with the funds going toward reforesting areas affected by the February 2024 fire. This will allow the planting of 5,000 trees contributed by attendees and a similar number provided by the organization. Muñoz explains that "this amount equals 8 hectares, as 1,250 to 1,300 trees are needed to reforest each hectare."

Source:El Mercurio