Patagonia Project: CMPC’s unprecedented green initiative unveiled at the COP on Biodiversity

The proposal, which is part of the company’s Nature, Conservation and Biodiversity Strategy, intends to add more than 26 thousand hectares of conservation areas in the Aysén Region on land where the forestry sector used to operate.

Facets of the project include a park open to the public, native species conservation areas, carbon capture zones, and more.

During the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP 16) taking place in Cali, Colombia from October 21 through November 1, a novel initiative was presented for execution in Chile, specifically in the Aysén Region. This is the CMPC Patagonia Project that the company will develop on its land in southern Chile. It plans to carry out various measures with a view to protecting the environment and conserving nature.

Some of the works that will be executed on the more than 26 thousand hectares are the reconversion of tree plantation lands to native forest, conservation of existing flora and fauna species as well as the maintenance of carbon sinks in the area. The project also includes the opening of a new park in the Bosque Vivo network, the first in the Aysén Region. 

“The Patagonia Project is a key component of our Nature, Conservation and Biodiversity Strategy. One of our most challenging initiatives, it will provide us new understandings and help take actions related to the four pillars of our Strategy. It will also augment our restoration and conservation areas, which currently stand at more than 30% of our properties,” said CMPC Sustainability Manager Verónica de la Cerda.

CMPC Director of Sustainability and Conservation Patricio Herranz was tasked with presenting the project at the convention. He said, “All of our Aysén assets’ natural capital is currently under assessment. This includes a valuation of all ecosystem services inherent to the range of potential land uses of the properties, thereby increasing the socio-environmental attributes in order to adapt the lines of work set out in 2024.”

Specifically, the initiative will place 13,280 hectares under conservation, where native species of flora such as Lenga beech, Magellan’s beech, Ngaio tree, and others are found. More than 4,500 hectares will be restored after having been used as plantations. These lands will be transformed into native forest, with the aim of expanding them in the future. Additionally, more than 8,100 ha will now serve as carbon sinks. Such areas will not have a forestry function, but will play an important role in protecting the soil from erosion, protecting local biodiversity, and capturing carbon from the environment. 

Plans for the future include building a biological corridor for Huemul to protect this endemic species of southern Chile that is currently threatened with extinction.

Lastly, the Patagonia CMPC Project encompasses the opening of the El Cóndor Park in the Bosque Vivo network 10 kilometers to the east of Coyhaique. The park will host Cerro Negro, a hill that is more than 1,000 meters above sea level and stands out for its walls of columnar rocks.

Furthermore, the CMPC Patagonia Fund will be implemented in the future, a grant competition to finance projects that contribute to the shared value, innovation and sustainability of the Aysén community and whose lines of action are focused on conservation, research and sustainable development. 

The Nature, Conservation and Biodiversity Strategy

The Patagonia Project is one of the initiatives developed within the framework of CMPC’s Nature, Conservation and Biodiversity Strategy that was presented in 2023. Its purpose is to identify and highlight the importance of conservation and protection areas for the sustainability of forestry operations and to demonstrate the virtuous relationship between productive activities carried out in plantations and conservation areas. 

The strategy is divided into four fundamental pillars: biodiversity, ecosystem services, nature-based solutions and territoriality. The first pillar aims to promote and protect all living beings on the planet (plants, animals, microscopic organisms, humanity). Secondly, with ecosystem services, the aim is to identify and highlight the many benefits that people obtain from the ecosystems that result from interacting with them; for example, tourism and contemplating forests and landscapes. 

Nature-based solutions refer to actions that rely on ecosystems and the services they provide to respond to various societal challenges, benefiting both people and the environment. Finally, the fourth pillar seeks to have a complete view of the landscape or territory, incorporating the vision and interests of the communities that surround the forests.