After thirteen years of debate, the Chilean Parliament has just approved a law to create a public body that will be dedicated to the protection of biodiversity and protected areas in the face of climate change.
With our correspondent in Santiago, Naila Derroisne
The text was largely adopted: only two votes against and one abstention. For the Minister of the Environment, it is ” a historic step for the protection of Nature “. Because in Chile half of the ecosystems and two thirds of the species are today threatened in their survival.
The country has already classified eighteen species in the category “ extinct “. A few months ago, specialists confirmed the extinction of a shrub endemic to Chile: the Pingo Pingo, which grew in the center of the country.
The law adopted by the Chilean Congress therefore aims to create a public body that will be endowed with funds for the management of protected areas, both at sea and on land. With a 58% increase in the annual budget allocated to environmental institutions. This will, among other things, double the number of forest rangers.
This law passed through the four previous governments without success. But it was after the arrival of Gabriel Boric that the project experienced a new lease of life, and also its share of controversy.
The powerful salmon industry in Chile – the world’s second largest exporter – feared that its activity would be affected by the ban on farming exotic marine species inside protected areas. This article was finally not retained in the law which was adopted, to the great displeasure of the defenders of the environment.