Timber production is at the core of forestry activity and responds to an ever-growing global demand for renewable materials. But the forestry business rests on something broader than timber: the long-term management of a territorial heritage.
On a single property, plantations, areas of high environmental value, waterways, biodiversity, research, education, sports, recreation, and social and cultural values can all coexist. Recognizing those uses and interests, organizing them, and making them compatible is not a task parallel to the business; it is part of its sustainability, because it allows safeguarding the territory, strengthening the relationship with communities, and projecting productive activity over time.
From that perspective, Hueima Waterfall, located in Lanco, has become a new milestone for the Chilean forestry sector. Recently, the Forest Stewardship Council FSC® granted the company ARAUCO (Licence Code: FSC-C108276) certification of this site as a cultural ecosystem service.
Recognition of management
This is the first certification of its kind granted to a company in Chile and the second worldwide. The recognition highlights a management approach that protects the spiritual significance the Waterfall holds for the Hueima Indigenous Community and ensures that its future use respects that value.
Through its ecosystem services verification tools, forest certification systems such as FSC® make it possible to recognize values that could previously remain invisible in traditional forest management.
Hueima Waterfall is not only a place with cultural significance; its value also lies in the way that value is identified, safeguarded, and projected over time through concrete commitments, shared governance, and independent verification.
Shared commitment
For the Mapuche community, this waterfall is a space associated with the forest, water, and the transmission of ancestral knowledge. That cultural dimension was the focus of a working group involving ARAUCO, the community, and the municipality. "Participating from the start meant being able to express the ancestral vision and knowledge of the territory," said José Luis Fernández, president of the community. He added that this made it possible to ensure that the protection of the waterfall also considered its cultural, historical, and spiritual importance.
The process made it possible to build trust among different stakeholders, a central value when talking about territorial sustainability. "A virtuous circle occurred here, where the organized community, the State, and private enterprise develop a project together," noted Eladio Méndez, president of the APR Committee of Hueima. He added that initial doubts were overcome as the working groups progressed.
Forest certification
The Forest Stewardship Council® is an organization that promotes responsible forest management considering environmental, social, and economic criteria. In addition to its core certification, linked to production, FSC® verifies ecosystem services: benefits that ecosystems provide to society and that can be associated with water, biodiversity, soil, carbon, recreation, or cultural values, among others.
"In Chile, FSC®-certified companies like ARAUCO are implementing verified impacts to maintain and enhance ecosystem services in their forest heritage. Today we highlight a new ecosystem service: cultural practices and values," explained Regina Masay, executive director of FSC Chile.
For ARAUCO, Hueima adds a different dimension to its previous experiences in ecosystem services. In this case, the focus is on recognizing and managing the cultural value of a territory.
"In Hueima, we are not only talking about environmental conservation, but also about memory, identity, and the transmission of knowledge. It is recognition of the bond that the Indigenous Community has maintained with this place and of the collaborative work we have developed to protect it and project it into the future," stated César Ancalaf, head of Intercultural Relations at ARAUCO.
Knowing to conserve
The certified area covers 1.9 hectares associated with the waterfall and its surroundings. As part of the process, trails, viewpoints, informational panels, and species signage in Mapudungun were installed. Sensitive zones, usage rules, and measures to prevent visitation from affecting the site's spiritual character were also defined. "The logic is to organize access to the waterfall so it can be known without risking what makes it significant," emphasized Ancalaf.
From the municipality, the mayor of Lanco, Juan Rocha, highlighted that the certification represents an opportunity for the commune and the region. "We are being recognized worldwide in terms of ecosystem services, and that brings with it culture, environment, and tourism," he noted.
Forest territories border communities, contain ecosystems, waterways, areas of cultural value, and spaces that people use or value. Managing that social layer well generates trust, legitimacy, and shared responsibility in the conservation of these values.
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