The Pending Tasks of the Forestry Sector: What Do We Expect from the New Government?

There is no doubt that a change of government—especially one that represents a 180-degree political shift—opens up expectations and awakens legitimate hopes for change within the forestry sector.

Over the last 12 to 13 years, forestry activity in Chile has been trapped between public insecurity, terrorist attacks, almost non-existent afforestation, intentional fires, scarce investment in industrial projects, and a sustained distancing from the State, which has stopped promoting the sector as one of the main green engines of the national economy.

This distancing has been further deepened by regulatory frameworks that are difficult to comprehend. A telling example is the Climate Change Law, which states that monocultures are not CO2 sinks. In practice, this is equivalent to legally asserting that species like pine and eucalyptus do not perform photosynthesis—a definition that contradicts scientific evidence and weakens the sector's contribution to climate change mitigation.

This situation cannot continue. It is imperative that the new authorities take on a leading role, aimed at recovering lost time and highlighting the strategic importance of both planted forests and native forests, effectively incorporating them into the equation that will allow Chile to move towards carbon neutrality by the year 2050.

To achieve this, it is necessary to address a series of pending tasks, which we hope will begin to be activated with the new government:

1. Security in the territories.

Without public security, there is no work, and without work, there is no investment. Stability is a basic condition for the development of the southern regions of the country and for the reactivation of the forestry sector.

2. Promotion of afforestation with exotic and native species.

It is urgent to resume successful state policies, such as D.L. 701, updating them and focusing them on small and medium-sized landowners, who play a key role in the recovery of forested areas.

3. Forest fires.

Intentionality remains a predominant factor, aggravated by increasingly frequent extreme climate events. Modern legislation is required that comprehensively addresses the prevention, combat, investigation, and recovery of forests destroyed by fire—aspects that are currently insufficiently regulated.

4. Responsible management of native forests.

There is enormous productive potential in 3 to 4 million hectares of native forest regrowth. Its sustainable management would allow for the production of noble woods for furniture, doors, windows, and moldings, generating employment and economic activity in rural and remote areas.

5. Promotion of wood construction.

Chile faces a housing deficit estimated between 600,000 and 1,000,000 homes. Wood offers clear advantages: sustainability, construction speed, durability, resistance, energy efficiency, and a lower carbon footprint compared to concrete and steel.

These five tasks are fundamental if we aspire to a dynamic, modern, and resilient forestry sector capable of responding to current challenges. Planted forests and native forests must become the engine of development and the foundation for consolidating a sector that has been unjustly mistreated, both by public opinion and by the Chilean State itself.

The editorial inAcoforag Magazine