By Carolina Morgado, Executive Director Fundación Rewilding Chile
(Read news in Litoralpress)
Mr. Director:
The ratification by the Comptroller's Office of the legality of the Office of the Undersecretary of the Environment, where it suspends the granting, relocation or modification of concessions in Protected Areas that do not have a Management Plan, is a significant advance to establish limits on industrial production in favor of the conservation of our national parks and reserves.
The request of a group of parliamentarians and the salmon industry -which originated the pronouncement- questioned the attributions of the Undersecretariat and the application of Law N* 21600 or SBAP Law, not only on future concessions, but also on those that are pending. Protected areas were created to be protected, so it is a contradiction to allow industrial production within them. There are several scientific studies that demonstrate the impact that salmon farming has on ecosystems, so the pronouncement of the Comptroller's Office is a significant step towards respecting Chile's environmental institutions.