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Article: CHILE: GOVERNMENT LACKS ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY.
- Article from:
- NotiSur - South American Political and Economic Affairs
- Article date:
- May 9, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Latin American Data Base/Latin American Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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[The following article by Hugo Godoy Leon is reprinted with the permission of Noticias Aliadas in Lima, Peru. It appeared in the April 23, 2003, edition of Latinamerica Press.]
For more than 10 years, the Chilean government has blocked green legislation that would protect native forests by regulating logging and slowing the deterioration of their fragile ecosystems.
About 21% (15.6 million hectares) of Chile's total area is forested. Almost 90% of that is native forest, according to a World Bank-funded study published in 1999. Chile has 12 native tree species, including the alerce, whose typical life span (over 3,000 years) is exceeded only by ...