The Rights of Nature Tribunal finds the Chilean forestry model guilty of ecocide and ethnocide, for violating the Rights of Nature and the biocultural rights of the Mapuche People. Here the first page of the media release translated from Spanish:
The International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature has issued its long-awaited ruling on the case of the forestry model in the Biobío region of Chile. The decision, taken at the 11th session of the Tribunal in Concepción on 12 January, condemns the Chilean forestry model as a grave violation of the rights of nature and highlights the irreparable damage caused to ecosystems, local communities and the Mapuche people.
Chaired by Argentinean environmental lawyer Enrique Viale, and assisted by prosecutor Ricardo Frez and secretary Natalia Greene, the Tribunal focused on the devastating consequences of the extractivist forestry model and the 2023 fires, which have destroyed more than 479,000 hectares in the region. During the hearing, the distinguished panel of judges, made up of Jacqueline Arriagada, Karina Riquelme, Lucio Cuenca, Antonio Elizalde and Claudio Donoso, had the opportunity to hear moving testimony and compelling evidence from experts, community leaders and indigenous representatives, reflecting the disastrous effects of this forestry model.
This verdict was officially handed over to the local petitioning organisations: NGO We Kimun, Entramas por el Biobío, Red por la superación del modelo forestal, Coordinadora Nahuelbuta, ONG Defensa Ambiental, El Resumen and Pueblo Mapuche Pewenche.
The day before the session, the judges made a field visit to Agua Amarilla, Coroney, Cerro Neuque, Bosque de Queules, in the municipality of Tomé, and to Patagual, Quetra, la Quebrada and the municipality of Santa Juana, where they met with affected people, communities and neighbourhood councils, learned about the monoculture plantations and saw first-hand the impact of the forestry model and the fires on people’s lives and nature. They also visited a Queule reserve, where they were able to appreciate the resilience of this and other native trees, such as the fire-resistant Quillay, as well as examples of sustainable forest management that protect small refuges of life.
📜 Verdict (Spanish PDF) 👉 download here
📢 Media Information (Spanish PDF) 👉 download here
