Recovering Afforestation: A Strategic Decision for Chile

By Ignacio Vera Izquierdo, General Manager of Forestal Santa Blanca

The announcement by the Minister of Agriculture, Jaime Campos, regarding the preparation of a new Forest Promotion Law for 2027 opens a discussion that Chile postponed for too long. After the end of DL 701, the country lost a clear policy to incentivize afforestation, and the consequences are now visible: a sustained decline in planted area, closure of sawmills, weakening of rural economies, and a progressive loss of competitiveness compared to our neighbors.

Afforestation is not solely a productive activity. It is a tool for regional development, job creation, and carbon capture. Without new forests, there simply will not be enough raw material to sustain the forestry industry in the coming decades. And that means less employment, less investment, and fewer opportunities for hundreds of municipalities that depend directly or indirectly on this activity.

The situation is particularly complex for small and medium-sized forestry enterprises. In the last five years, 169 sawmills have disappeared, affecting entire production chains and hitting hard in territories where forestry activity is often one of the few sources of economic dynamism. Therefore, any new legislation must have a priority focus on small and medium-sized landowners, providing real incentives to reforest and recover the sector's productive base.

Chile also faces an increasingly challenging international scenario. While our country reduced its afforestation rate, nations such as Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil increased their planted forest area by around 10%, 15%, and 20% over the last decade. That difference is not minor: it implies greater future wood availability, more export capacity, and better conditions to attract investment.

The new Forest Promotion Law cannot be limited to replicating past instruments. It must incorporate modern criteria of sustainability, climate resilience, and territorial development. Fire prevention, restoration of degraded soils, responsible watershed management, and integration with carbon markets must be a central part of this public policy.

Chile has a strategic opportunity to understand that the forestry sector does not belong to the past, but to the future. In a world that demands renewable materials, sustainable construction, and low-carbon economies, strengthening afforestation can become a competitive advantage for the country. But that requires political will, long-term vision, and the ability to once again place regional productive development at the center of the discussion.