In Danger: Ciprès de la Guaitecas

Ciprès de la Guaitecas (Pilgerodendron uviferum) (Photo: http://www.conifers.org)

The western hemisphere`s southernmost conifer, Ciprès de la Guaitecas, will soon disappear if temperate rainforests in Chile and Argentina are lost to development. Ciprès de la Guaitecas is fully protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), but this has not stopped developers from destroying the habitat of this unique cypress.

In southern Chile, Noranda Inc., a Toronto-based international mining and metals company, is proposing to build an aluminum plant in the sparsely populated Aysén region. Aysén is home to unspoiled rivers, fjords and dozens of endangered and endemic plants and animals, including Ciprès de la Guaitecas.

The proposed project includes construction of three hydroelectric dams to power the aluminum plant. Noranda has filed an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project, but the EIA fails to evaluate how two of the dams, which will flood the habitat of Ciprès de la Guaitecas, will impact the population of this important tree.

Local communities oppose the project because the dams and pollution from the aluminum production plant will irretrievably harm the delicate and unspoiled natural resources of the region. Communities and environmentalists have formed a coalition to challenge the project because it is inconsistent with the principle of sustainable development and violates Chilean environmental law.

Fiscalía del Medio Ambiente (FIMA), Chile`s leading public interest environmental law organization, is serving as legal counsel to the coalition.

FIMA and E-LAW U.S. collaborated on the submission of an independent evaluation of the EIA. The evaluation revealed that, contrary to Chilean law, the EIA failed to consider alternative locations for the project. This is a fundamental flaw because the project could be located distant from unspoiled ecosystems and use clean-burning natural gas imports to power the aluminum plant. The evaluation also revealed that the EIA includes extremely limited information about biological resources that would be impacted by the project.

FIMA has filed a petition to Chile`s federal environmental agency urging them to reject the EIA. In January, 2002, Noranda requested an eight-month delay of the process in order to respond to evaluations critical of the project`s EIA.