The route, which will become a protection zone, will be about 100 meters wide and the largest of its kind in Chile, spanning the regions of Biobío and La Araucanía.

In an interview with El Mercurio, CMPC CEO Francisco Ruiz-Tagle again referred to the fires that continue to affect south central Chile noting that “This is a tragedy for Chile” and “Unfortunately, these things are often quickly forgotten about.”

In light of this, he has announced the five pillars of the reforestation and ecological restoration plan that the company will implement. The first is to increase the protection zones for springs and waterways. Secondly, more firewalls and firebreaks will be built in the forests. Protection rings will be added for populated areas along with larger firebreaks since they include preventive forest management zones, clean areas and those with limited vegetation. A fourth aspect is the new areas of productive coexistence with agro-social projects that will be developed together with neighboring communities. Lastly, they will intensify the creation of biological and biodiversity corridors, an initiative that began in 2021 in Maule and Contulmo, and which has proven to be one of the best and most effective practices for protecting biodiversity, whether flora or fauna.

This biological corridor of 140 kilometers long by 100 meters wide, will be the largest of its kind in Chile, spanning the regions of La Araucanía and Biobío. It will host flora and fauna that are different from what is usually found on a productive plantation, although they can coexist.

In view of this plan, he clarified that “This renovation in the landscape design of the affected areas that we are implementing does not mean that it used to be bad. Our teams have always worked in a professional and technologically modern way to keep our plantations certified under global standards.”

Check out the full interview here:

 

Entrevista Gerente General, Francisco Ruiz-Tagle en El Mercurio