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Government Enacts Law Creating the New National Forest Service

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In a ceremony held in Buin, the Government celebrated this morning the enactment of the law that creates the new National Forest Service and transforms the current National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) into a public service.

The enactment strengthens the functions and responsibilities historically carried out by CONAF, consolidating its role as an enforcement body for compliance with sectoral laws and granting its officials the authority of notaries to verify infractions.

The Minister of Agriculture, Esteban Valenzuela, emphasized that this new institutional framework represents a decisive step toward strengthening the protection of the country’s forests and ecosystems. "80% of CONAF will become the National Forest Service, with three fundamental tasks. First, the preservation and support of sustainable processes from a productive standpoint for native forests and xerophytic formations across the entire northern-central part of the country," stated the Secretary of State.

Secondly, he highlighted the service’s role in "preventing and mitigating forest fires, in collaboration with firefighters, as a national and territorial safeguarding task. Thirdly, it will play a significant role in promoting the timber industry and our forests, which are a key part of the country’s productive matrix and our contribution to carbon capture in Chile’s global commitments to climate change."

CONAF’s Executive Director, Aída Baldini Urrutia, affirmed that "the spirit of CONAF continues and will continue to strengthen." In this regard, she stated, "This is the National Forest Service that Chile needs to address economic and environmental needs, as well as social aspects. Forests are an important part of social well-being." She also emphasized the importance of public-private collaboration and advancing native forest management.

Meanwhile, the president of the Chilean Wood Corporation (Corma), Rodrigo O’Ryan, noted that "today is a very important day for Chile, as this institution is created to enhance the development of our forests and the entire productive chain that provides so much rural employment. Additionally, it supplies society with countless resources like biomaterials, bioproducts, and bioenergy, allowing us to address critical issues such as climate change and rural employment."

CONAF will now be divided into two services: the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service (SBAP), under the Ministry of the Environment, and the National Forest Service, which will remain under the Ministry of Agriculture.

In this regard, the National Forest Service will be a decentralized entity with legal status and its own assets. Its objectives will include the protection, preservation, promotion, restoration, and sustainable management of forests and other vegetational formations.

This new service will appoint its leadership through the Senior Public Management (ADP) system and will have new powers it currently lacks, such as accessing water sources and affected properties without waiting for instructions from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to combat fires.

Additionally, it will coordinate and implement policies and plans for conservation, development, promotion, and sustainable forest management. The service will formulate strategies to promote sustainability in the forestry sector and execute programs and projects to control pests affecting forests or other vegetational formations not under the jurisdiction of the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG).

Strengthening Fire Prevention and Response

One of the central pillars of the new law is strengthening the prevention and combat of forest fires. Specifically, it establishes the National Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction from Forest Fires, which will define objectives, actions, goals, and timelines focused on prevention, mitigation, preparedness, and capacity-building in affected areas.

Additionally, coordination between the National Forest Service and SENAPRED is prioritized, with the former taking charge of planning and executing wildfire protection measures in collaboration with members of the National Disaster Prevention and Response System.