It took them 15 years, but it was worth waiting - the Chilean parliament has approved a law to preserve the country's forests, promote their sustainable use and foster related scientific research.SciDev.net reported (and thank you to Metafore for bringing it to my attention) about this happy ending for 15 years of negotiations, the longest any law has taken to pass in Chile.
Antonio Lara, dean of the forestry science faculty at the Austral University in Valdivia, Chile, who was involved in the negotiations since 1992, explained the essence of the new law, called 'The Native Forest Law': "This law introduces an ecosystemic vision that does not consider the forest just as a wood source, but as a benefit for the community, since it sets funds for forest recovery and for its non-lumber management."
Two important parts in the new law are the creation of a fund of US $8 million a year for forest conservation, recovery and sustainable management projects, and the protection of water sources by banning the felling of native forests located near springs, rivers, glaciers, wetlands, and lands with steep slopes.
This is great news from Chile and I hope that many other developing countries (and also developed countries) will follow Chile and adopt its vision. I just hope it just won't take them 15 years :-)
Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
Eco-Libris: plant a tree for every book you read!
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