The document reports worrying figures on the presence of the salmon industry in Chile's National Parks and National Reserves.
National Parks and National Reserves in Chilean Patagonia, identifying 408 concessions granted, of which 67% are of an indefinite
of which 67% are of an indefinite nature, while the remaining 33% have permits to operate for 25 years, extendable for a further 25 years.
permits to operate for 25 years, renewable for the same period.
As part of the campaign Save Patagoniacampaign, whose purpose is to withdraw salmon industry concessions within protected areas (PAs) without relocation, the Alliance for the Defense of Protected Areas carried out a survey to identify the concessions granted within National Parks (NP) and National Reserves (NR) in Chilean Patagonia.
The document states that the 1,380 concessions granted in the regions of Los Lagos, Aysén and Magallanes cover a total of 15,324.81 hectares (ha). Of these, 408 (30%) are located within the marine portions of the protected areas, distributed as follows: 19 concessions in the Alberto de Agostini NP de Magallanes NP; 8 in Magdalena Island NP (Aysén); and 2 in Laguna San Rafael NP (Aysén). In the case of the National Reserves, there are 313 in Las Guaitecas (Aysén) and 66 in Kawésqar (Magallanes).
"With this cadastre we seek to have updated information on concessions in protected areas in Chilean Patagonia, and to make known relevant data that will provide a solid basis and greater transparency for future management decisions and public policies to ensure the preservation of protected ecosystems against the threat of the salmon industry.", said Cristopher Toledoeconomist at Fundación Terram and author of the document together with geographer Daniel Espinozaof the same institution.
Regarding the duration of concessions within the PAs, the report states that 67% are indefinite, while the remaining 33% have permits to operate for 25 years (extendable for the same period), since they were granted as of April 2010, i.e. after the publication of Law No. 20,434. The most striking case is that of Las Guaitecas NR in Aysén, where 77% of the concessions do not have an expiration date.
"The salmon farming concessions inside PAs should never have been granted. Firstly, because the creation of these areas has conservation as its main objective and, secondly, because they contravene the Convention for the Protection of the Flora, Fauna and Natural Scenic Beauty of the Americas, known as the Washington Convention, to which Chile adhered in 1967 and which, therefore, has the status of law." said Erwin Sandovalpresident of the Corporación Privada para el Desarrollo de Aysén (CODESA). (CODESA). He added that "the presence of salmon farming has been generating cumulative impacts to the ecosystems and it is urgent to remove this industry from a territory that the State of Chile has set aside for conservation due to its high ecological value. territory that the State of Chile has set aside for conservation due to its high ecological value. Therefore, relocation is also non-negotiable.".
In terms of companies, the following stand out Nova Australthe sole owner of the 19 concessions in Alberto de Agostini NP; and AquaChile with its subsidiaries, which have a total of 100 concessions within three PAs: Las Guaitecas and Kawésqar NR, and Magdalena Island NP, where it is the only company operating. It is also the only company operating in this area, Multi X and Australis Mar have a large number of concessions in Las Guaitecas NR, with 47 and 46, respectively.
Another aspect addressed in the cadaster is that most of the concessions were granted after the creation of these National Parks and National Reserves, except in Kawésqar National Park, where a large number were granted prior to its creation and where, in addition, there are currently 54 applications in process.
For the preparation of the study we worked with spatial information on protected areas in the National System of State Wildlife Protected Areas (SNASPE) from the National Property Cadastre System (updated to February 2024), and also with spatial information on aquaculture concessions for salmon farming and spatial information on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) obtained from the map viewer of the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (updated to May 2024).
Check here the complete cadastre
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