A Plantation Is Not a Forest

The amount of Radiata Pine and Eucalyptus Plantation that was planted in the 1970s and 80s due to a law that subsidized and encouraged private companies to destroy native forest and plant exotics is mind-boggling here in Chile.

While driving in between the few crumbs of protected habitat we have seen oceans, mile after mile, of planted non-native forest where there once was Nothofagus (the Southern beeches), Myrtle and Araucaria forest. The amount of destruction is excessive, and what has been lost is discouraging.

What leaves me hopeful, however, is seeing a burgeoning enthusiasm and reverence for native plants in Chilean culture and among young people here. Art featuring natives is common, and many here seem to embrace the rare plants which compose these special Southern Hemisphere forests and plant communities.