When Chile’s biggest plantation companies, Arauco and CMPC, sought FSC certification toward the end of the last decade, it brought the controversial issue of forest conversion into the spotlight.
Large areas of natural forest in southern Chile were cleared to make way for plantations. Most of this happened in the 1970s and 80s, but some conversion was more recent. As a condition of certification, the companies committed to restore more than 35,000 hectares of native forest to compensate for all the conversion that took place after 1994.
Masisa (which has been FSC certified since 2004) and CMPC both presented their restoration plans during the study tour, and we visited several sites where restoration is under way. The approach taken depends on the surrounding vegetation and the amount of regrowth naturally occurring.
Some sites were being left to regenerate naturally, some had to be entirely replanted, and others involved a mixture of the two. Both companies are working closely with academic researchers to guide and monitor the restoration.
While some restoration is happening in the same places where conversion occurred, the FSC has agreed that compensation can also happen in other areas. That means that, rather than restoring many small, scattered areas, companies can focus on larger units that will have a greater positive impact.
CMPC, for example, considers 14 criteria to decide where restoration will bring the biggest benefits, such as:
- Improving water supplies
- Connecting areas of high conservation value
- Restoring degraded soils
- Providing recreational and landscape benefits.
Restoration on this scale has never happened before in Chile – but it has the potential to go much further. The big question being discussed on the study tour was how we can build on the companies’ restoration plans and experience to bring even greater environmental and social benefits.
Key lessons:
Social considerations
Consulting with neighbouring communities is a crucial part of the companies’ restoration plans. For example, to protect an area under restoration, they may need to provide alternative sites where people can graze cattle or collect firewood. There are also opportunities to involve local people in the restoration work – for example in collecting seeds of native species and growing seedlings.
Looking to the landscape
To maximize the benefits of restoration, it’s important to look beyond a company’s own operations. Companies need to consider the role of forests within the landscape and collaborate with other land users.
We’d like to thank Barney Jeffries of New Generation Plantations Platform for this story. You can find out more at http://newgenerationplantations.org.