Boise-Cascade Threatens Chile's Ancient Forests
3/15/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Boise-Cascade Threatens Chile's Ancient Forests
Source: Global Response Network, http://www.globalresponse.org
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: March 15, 1999
We are all weary of hearing about terrible things we can't do anything
about. Here is an exception - something that can be changed through
targeted citizen input.
Boise Cascade Corporation, infamous in northwestern U.S. for logging
old-growth forests, is now ready to reduce Chile's magnificent
rainforests to chipboard and paper. In a joint venture called
"Cascada Chile," Boise Cascade plans to build the world's largest chip
mill in Southern Chile's Ilque Bay. All the trees - 5 million acres
worth - would be logged in native old-growth forests and turned into
paper and building materials for US and Japanese homes.
Chilean landholders would log the forest and sell the trees to Boise
Cascade. The effects on the forest would be devastating, but because
of this arrangement, Boise Cascade itself would avoid responsibility
for the cutting.
Chilean environmentalists give strong reasons for not logging these
forests. Chile is gravely deforested already; soil erosion mars half
the landscape and desertification threatens two-thirds. Of Chile's
original temperate rainforests, less than 40 percent remain and they
are a spectacular treasure of biodiversity and natural beauty. Chile's
Central Bank predicts that at current rates, all of the country's
unprotected native forests will be gone in 20 years.
Southern Chile's varied landscape, altitude and climate create a
wealth of ecosystems, giving these forests the highest rate of
biodiversity among all temperate zones. Up to 90 percent of animal and
plant species in Chile's forests are found nowhere else on Earth! The
forests targeted by Boise Cascade are home to the world's smallest
deer, the pudu, which stands only 15 inches high, among many other
vulnerable mammals. Two of the most threatened tree species are
conifers found only in Chile: the alerce tree that lives up to 4,000
years, and the araucaria, an "archetypal" tree whose ancestors date
back 200 million years. These trees are appropriately declared
"natural monuments." The World Wildlife Fund lists Chile's forests
among the 25 eco-regions most in need of protection for their
remarkable biodiversity.
Fierce opposition to this project has developed in Chile and around
the world because it threatens the viability of tourism in this
beautiful region, which promises economic benefits to many thousands
of people and businesses. Within Chile, a strong alliance of
environmental groups, tourism operators, salmon companies,
archeologists and civic leaders are using litigation, letters and
demonstrations to oppose the Cascada Chile project.
The salmon industry has appealed Boise Cascade's environmental impact
study, claiming it ignores negative effects on salmon production, and
archaeologists want construction stopped until the chip mill site can
be thoroughly excavated for ancient artifacts. Faced with strong
public opposition, Boise Cascade has summoned to its aid the same
public relations firm that tried to patch up Exxon's image after the
Valdez oil spill in Alaska.
Chilean organizations have asked concerned people in the US to help
them persuade Boise Cascade and the Chilean government to stay out of
Chile's precious temperate rainforest. In reply, Global Response, an
international network for environmental action and education, has
launched a letter campaign urging a member of the Boise Cascade board
of directors and a key Chilean government official to
abandon the chip mill project as a bad idea. Call Global Response at
303/444-0306 for their names and addresses, or visit
http://www.globalresponse.org
The ultimate survival of the planet rests on preserving biodiversity
and should not be jeopardized for corporate profit. Adding your brief
letter supporting the preservation of Chile's temperate forests and
opposing this environmental outrage will help prevent this potential
disaster from ever occurring.
end.
GLOBAL RESPONSE is an international letter-writing network of
environmental activists. In partnership with indigenous,
environmentalist and peace and justice organizations around the world,
GLOBAL RESPONSE develops "Actions" that describe specific, urgent
threats to the environment; each "Action" asks members to write
personal letters to individuals in the corporations, governments or
international organizations that have the power and responsibility to
take corrective action. GR also issues "Young Environmentalists'
Actions" and "Eco-Club Actions" designed to educate and motivate
elementary and high school students to practice earth stewardship.
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