Ecosystem and Biodiversity Conservation
We have a commitment to the conservation and protection of ecosystems and biodiversity. To that end, we reserve land for native forests and the protection and restoration of water catchment areas, watercourses, and flora and fauna. We understand ecological restoration to mean any activity that initiates or accelerates the recovery of an ecosystem, improving its state of conservation, recovering degraded sites and increasing the flow of ecosystem goods and services.
Our corporate sustainable development goal in matters of conservation is to add 100 thousand hectares of land for conservation, protection and/or restoration by 2030 to CMPC’s already existing more than 320 thousand hectares of such land in Argentina, Brazil and Chile (as of 2018).
| Progress made in the year 2019 | Percentage of completion | 2030 goal |
| 4,466 ha | 4.47% | 100,00 ha |
Area for protection, conservation and restoration (in ha) and share by country
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
| Total area | 321,529 | 325,995 | ||
| Argentina | 6% | 6% | ||
| Brazil | 42% | 43% | ||
| Chile | 52% | 51% |
At the same time, as part of the Sustainable Forest Management certification in Chile and Brazil, we made the following voluntary restoration commitment by 2026:
Progress towards the completion of the restoration commitment in ha
| 2026 commitment | Restored in 2010-2018 | Restored in
2019 |
Progress | |
| Total | 73,824 | 33,638 | 12,864 | 63% |
| Brazil | 65,086 | 31,648 | 12,466 | 68% |
| Chile | 8,738 | 1,890 | 398 | 26% |
We also manage High Conservation Value Areas (HCVAs) that possess unique characteristics of outstanding significance or critical importance to their natural surroundings (HCVRN, 2005). Their identification and proper protection is part of a commitment related to our sustainable forest management certifications.
HCVAs: number, area in ha and types
| 2018 | 2019 | |||
| 418 | 26,462 | 432 | 28,317.8 | |
| Biological | 26 | 85% | 26 | 86% |
| Service | 364 | 14% | 378 | 13% |
| Socio-cultural | 28 | 0.8% | 28 | 0.8% |
Guidelines for the conservation of HCVAs:
| 1. Fire control as a priority |
| 2. No fire use within the HCVAs or in neighboring areas |
| 3. No fishing, hunting, logging or any other illegal activity within HCVA boundaries |
| 4. Coordination with scientists and experts to monitor critical conservation indicators |
| 5. Clearing the undergrowth around endemic species |
| 6. Communication and outreach in local communities about HCVAs |
| 7. Training the company’s workforce in the care of HCVAs |
| 8. Outreach through flyers and pamphlets on biological HCVAs |
| 9. Fencing and signage on the ground |
Wildfires
99% of wildfires are caused by human activity, whether due to negligence, carelessness, and agricultural practices, or intentionally. That is why, preventing fires from occurring and protecting human lives is of utmost importance to us. Our prevention strategy prioritizes interface fires, focusing our efforts in residential communities, on preventive forest management and the use of the latest available technology.
The environmental conditions that most increase the probability of occurrence and propagation of wildfires are temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius, relative humidity below 30% and wind speed above 30 km/hour. This combination of conditions is often referred to as “30/30/30”.
Number of fire outbreaks and affected surface area in ha
| 2016- 2017 season | 2017-2018 season | 2018-2019 season | ||||
| 744 outbreaks | 19,722.7 ha | 988 outbreaks | 2,554.6 ha | 1,092 outbreaks | 3,328.7 ha | |
| Argentina | 4% | 0.01% | 4.6% | 1% | 1.8% | 0.08% |
| Brazil | 16% | 1.3% | 23% | 52% | 13.9% | 3.3% |
| Chile | 80% | 98.5% | 72% | 47% | 84% | 96.5% |