The expert in sustainability thinks we are still on time to counter the current climate crisis, but he claimed that, in order to face it, a higher ambition is the key, as well as a strong will from countries to progress and make decisions that might be hard to do today.
WWF Chile (Chilean division of the World Wide Fund for Nature) works on protecting terrestrial and maritime environments in the south of our country, a zone identified by the organisation as one of the 35 most important places for conservation in the world, at the same level as iconic places such as Galápagos and Madagascar.
It also cares for both animal and vegetative species inhabiting the zone to be appropriately protected under any protection method, whether it’s in public protected areas like national parks and monuments, or in private and community conservation areas or indigenous conservation territories.
Additionally, it works on reducing human impacts, mainly from productive activities directly affecting the integrity of species, ecosystems, local and indigenous in the territory, such as forestry, fishing and aquaculture.
In its beginnings, the work aimed at the promotion of protected areas, stopping threats from infrastructure projects and supporting community conservation initiatives in indigenous territories. After 4 years, the office consolidated by widening its reach to the maritime field and making southern Chile a priority site.
What is your vision on the drought and water shortage that has been strongly made clear in Chile very long ago? Why water is so important for the present and future?
There’s no discussion around water as an essential resource for life and any way of development and, certainly, addressing and overcoming the current water crisis must be among environmental and social priorities.
In this area, it’s not just the effect of a long-running drought, in which climate change has had an impact on it, but we are also before the consequences by the loss of biodiversity that has occurred, in terms of native forest, as we can’t forget that water supply, in both quantity and quality, primarily depends on the health of our forests.
In terms of the way to address the shortage, at WWF Chile we believe that it’s very important to urgently address the design and implementation of measures that help address the water crisis in an integral way, with an integral basin governance and prioritising use for human consumption and survival.
We also think that the discussion about a new Constitution is an opportunity to review how the country has addressed the access and sustainable use of this and other essential resources.
What job are you doing in the matter of forests and what is the importance of trees for biodiversity?
Forests are part of the solution for different contemporary problems, and their environmental, social and economic impact is highly reported, so their conservation makes a permanent concern for WWF. We know that 8 out of 10 species found on the Earth live into native forests, as well as around 300 million people, especially in developing countries.
One of the most powerful current threats faced by native forests is climate change, a phenomenon in which they play a double role. If we don’t preserve them and we leave them being destroyed and eroded, they become a source emitting greenhouse gases.
It’s estimated at a global level that contemporary forests can manage to store about 296 gigatons of carbon, which is almost six times the annual emission levels. Nonetheless, their annual loss and erosion rates remains alarmingly high.
On the contrary, protection, restoration and sustainable management or forests in resilient forest landscapes significantly contribute to mitigate climate alterations, through the capture of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Currently they manage to capture about 30% of emissions.
And what is the role of forests in the adaptation to climate change?
Additionally, forests, as part of resilient forest landscapes, play a key role in the adaptation to climate change, as a nature-based solution. Forests can act as shelters and strengthen resilience on vulnerable communities; for example, by increasing the resilience of soils or mitigating the impacts of natural disasters caused by climate change.
This focus increases the relation between cost and efficiency on measures by creating secondary benefits, both for biodiversity, people’s welfare, and the supply of water in an appropriate quantity and quality.
In terms of the actions we’ve been developing in this area, the main thing has to do with promoting the restoration of 500.000 hectares of native forest, advancing the goal from the National Forest Policy from 2035 to 2030; besides increasing the area of native forest under Sustainable Forest Management in 500.000 hectares by the same date.
These themes are part of the proposal we submitted to the Government in August 2019, with the purpose of setting more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) within climate commitments from the Paris Agreement.
What is your opinion on forestry and how this intensive production has affected river basins and surrounding ecosystems in general?
In terms of ecosystem and climate benefits, native forests are fundamental, but it can’t be acknowledged the role of the industry, primarily in the economy.
For example, it’s been estimated at a global level that the demand for wood will keep growing, due to the increase in global population. Also, as a raw material it’s superior to other materials for its biodegradability and low carbon footprint, in comparison to metal and concrete.
In this higher-demand scenario – with the global demand quadrupling by 2050, it must be kept in mind that extraction from native forests has a sustainable limit that is being already exceeded.
Otherwise, for these economic benefits from plantations to be compatible with social and environmental aspects, WWF Chile suggests they comply with international standards, such as the Forest Management Certification by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Principles of New Generation Plantations (NGP), a concept that WWF has published globally in order to reduce the impacts of traditional plantations, which has to do with affecting biodiversity and ecosystem services like water.
Also, these forests must be strictly regulated by the Plantation Protocol developed by the Forestry Policy Council from CONAF.
Fishing and Salmon farming
What is the work line for the promotion of sustainable fishing?
Chile is a coastal country and fishing is placed fourth among activities in the country, so taking fishing into a sustainability frame, is currently one of the greatest challenges for the country.
In this area, one of WWF Chile’s work lines has been the restoration of the southern hake, which makes 63% of sales at street markets in Santiago’s Metropolitan Area, and it’s a financial source that 18.000 fishermen and their families rely on.
Nowadays the Chilean or Southern hake, also known as ‘pescada’, is overexploited and has a restoration plan. WWF is working alongside other actors such as artisanal fishermen and the Government to establish scientific committees in order to make decisions and implement management and restoration programs.
In the case of the hake, we want to and propose the extension of the close season from one to two months, between 15th August and 15th October, until we record clear and permanent signs of a restoration in stocks. This must always go with an eventuality plan that helps mitigate the economic and social impacts carried by the extension of the close season.
Do you agree with the Fishing Law?
Regarding the Fishing Law, WWF has suggested the need to have a law with legitimacy and credibility from all actors in the fishing world, so we consider there must be a new legal framework for fishing.
Nevertheless, we consider it’s necessary to maintain, further and improve the aspects of sustainability, technical and scientific criteria present in the Law no. 20.657. From here we highlight tools like the precautionary principle and the ecosystem focus, as well as the deployment of technical scientific committees and indicators of stock status like Biological Reference Points (BRPs).
According to your opinion, what is the impact from salmon farming industries on water bodies and the ecosystem in general? Should more aquaculture leases be granted south of the country?
Salmon farming industry in Chile has several impacts, ranging from environmental to social, existing zones with lack of available information on loading capacity, where WWF Chile has called not to grant more leases, such as the case of Magallanes.
In that particular place, WWF recognises a unique condition in terms of pristine nature, in addition to a lack of scientific information required for an appropriate decision making in salmon farming, primarily studies on loading capacity in ecosystems and indicators, therefore, it’s appropriate to implement the Cautionary Principle by the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Another point that concerns us in that zone is ending aquaculture at protected areas, which includes all maritime protected areas and marine portions of terrestrial protected areas like maritime parks, national parks, maritime reserves, national reserves and Multiple-use Protected Coastal Maritime Areas (MU-PCMA).
Chile has established some maritime protected areas, is it enough?
It’s impossible not to recognise the huge progress Chile has had in terms of Maritime Protected Areas (MPAs) in the last years, moving from 4.3% to 46% of protection on the Exclusive Economic Zone between 2014 and 2018.
This boom, unfortunately, still hasn’t had a complement in terms of funding and institutionality. For example, since the Convention on Biological Diversity and also from the OECD, there have been several recommendations in relation to loopholes in the conservation of ecosystems and species in Chile.
In this way, the main challenges have to do with the fact that today there’s no effective conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity in this country, basically for structural failures and a still incomplete institutionality, which has taken us, alongside different environmental organisations, to stand for the urgent establishment of a Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service, an initiative that hasn’t come to fruition for a decade.
What is the relevance for Chile to sign the Escazú Agreement?
We think that signing this agreement is a contribution to conservation and environmentalism in Chile, therefore, our recommendation has been for Chile to sign it. In particular, we see this agreement as a huge progress in terms of effective participation, access to information and environmental justice, themes that cross different conflicts and demands experienced in the region and the country regarding the environment. Also, obligations from the Escazú Agreement are highly related to the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.
BOX
COP25 and Greta
In your opinion, is Chile prepared to face the COP25 in a good way? What are the keys to make it ambitious and successful?
The main thing after the change of COP25 from Santiago to Madrid, particularly given people demands being raised, is for this conference to keep pace and ambition on climate action, but firmly incorporating the social field.
While we were considering it from the beginning, the social uprising has reminded us there are still huge gaps in Chile, and concerns for justice and fairness in the access, use and sustainable management of our natural resources, is a key point for the future of the country.
Therefore, we think that the environmental issue and the climate crisis isn’t losing sense nor interest in the new context the country is facing, but they’re more relevant today, understanding that climate change is making current social inequalities more critical, so it’s still very relevant to work for an urgent and ambitious climate action, which we think it must be among priorities in order to make a fairer Chile and a planet where we can live with nature in harmony.
What do you think about leadership from Greta Thunberg and youth in general who have come to the streets to protest for the relation between contemporary society and environment?
These young people have gained a very relevant space and we think they have tools, knowledge and, above all, conviction and energy to help us move the curve and motivate decision makers to listen and consider changes and commitments the planet urgently needs, and that are key to humankind’s survival.
These young people raising their voice will become our governors, corporate CEOs, teachers educating 2050 generations, mothers and fathers responsible of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren and, by seeing their commitment today, I think they’re bringing new hopes regarding our future and we must support them.