Trade, Rural Poverty & the Environment Project Profiles
Chile
Chile is frequently touted as a dynamic story of economic success through trade liberalization and foreign investment. Unlike much of Latin America, it has experienced significant economic growth and poverty reduction during the past two decades. Researchers from the Universidad de Chile and the Universidad Austral de Chile have used a comparative approach to examine two important export-oriented sectors in Chile, salmon aquaculture and plantation forestry, in order to understand the role trade liberalization that played in their emergence; and to document the ensuing impacts and environmental and poverty tradeoffs.Chile has become the world’s second largest producer of farmed salmon, generating over $1 billion in export earnings in 2003. Although the explosive growth of this sector has generated a range of environmental impacts and carries significant risk, little research has been done on how best to reduce and mitigate these impacts. There have also been concerns about the impacts of aquaculture on Chile’s artisanal fishing industry.
The Valdivian temperate rainforests are home to a highly unique and diverse range of habitats and species, including endemic species like the monkey puzzle tree. Unsustainable logging and the conversion of native forest to industrial tree plantations have been serious threats in recent years. Intensive plantation forestry is often linked to declining water quality and quantity in rural areas. The rapid economic transition in this region to plantation forestry has produced wealth for the national economy, but has contributed less to poverty alleviation than other sectors. Indigenous Mapuche communities and small farmers in forest areas have seen the fewest benefits.
WWF’s Valdivian Ecoregion Programme is using this research and the new data generated in its ongoing efforts to promote better environmental and social practices in the forestry and salmon aquaculture industries.
Links
WWF’s Valdivian Ecoregion ProgrammeWWF’s Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue
WWF Chile project page (in Spanish)
