Forestry development, water scarcity, and the Mapuche protest for environmental justice in Chile

Abstract

From a theoretical approach based on political ecology and environmental justice, we assess how forestry development has generated socio-spatial dynamics of environmental degradation and water scarcity in southern Chile. Through historical-geographical and ethnographic methods, we discuss how and why the spread of forestry plantations has significantly influenced social and environmental degradation of the Mapuche's modes of living. In response, during recent decades a political articulation of a Mapuche social movement is observed. Their demands include land, autonomy, rights and opportunities to frame their own development strategies. Within the internal diversity of this movement, a key principle is reversing the spread of environmental degradation by recovering the native forest and its natural water cycles, which have been disrupted significantly by the increasing of forestry plantations. We explore these dynamics of the Mapuche movement from an environmental justice approach.

Impacts of forests and forestation on hydrological services in the Andes: A systematic review

“…have also been planted on degraded agricultural land and high altitude grasslands for fuelwood supply (Aide et al, 2013, Ponette-González et al, 2014. While some plantations have successfully grown on eroded slopes and improved initial degraded conditions, others have generated conflicts due to decline in water yield, especially when trees were planted on well conserved grasslands (Buytaert et al, 2007, Farley, 2007, Morris, 1997, Ochoa-Tocachi et al, 2016a, Torres-Salinas et al, 2016. The ability of exotic species plantations to reduce water erosion has also been questioned by several studies, which suggested that agricultural terraces were more efficient in reducing water erosion than e.g., Eucalyptus spp.…”

Analysing the Outcomes of the Forestry Sector on the Sustainable Development Goals for Rural Communities: A Case Study of Cabrero, Chile

“…PROGEA (2014) discusses the contribution of the sector to renewable energy through the use of its own residues as a source of energy production. By contrast, Cid (2015), Peña-Fernandez and Valenzuela-Palma (2004) and Torres-Salinas et al (2016) argue that plantations in the Biobío region are often managed under unsustainable silvicultural practices that affect water resources, increase chemical pollution, as well as increase the risk of forest fires and its consequences to communities. In terms of the opportunity costs of land use for plantation forestry, CONAF (2013) argues there is no opportunity cost due the quality of the soils where plantations are located.…”

An Analysis of the Impact of Forest Policy on Rural Areas of Chile

“…Several studies have described the positive impact on economic growth and development of the forest sector as a result of this policy [21,25,[37][38][39]. However, there are also those that recognize negative impacts due to the reduction of native forest cover and an increase in the area of exotic species [40,41], causing a change in the provision of ecosystem services (loss of biodiversity and endemic species, changes in water flow, landscape, and loss of opportunities for recreation and ecotourism) [42][43][44][45], leading to social conflicts [46,47] and land abandonment [48,49].…”