Because of its unique narrow strip-like map in the world, Chile is one of the most easily remembered countries in the world. What are the characteristics of such a unique country in its forests, wetlands, flora and fauna, environmental protection, forestry industry and other related fields? To this end, the reporter specially invited the Chinese ambassador to Chile Niu Qingbao to hold a dialogue.
△ Niu Qingbao, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Chile
Reporter: Ambassador Niu, please briefly introduce the basic national conditions of Chile, such as population, land area, and gross domestic product. In addition, what are the characteristics of geography, climate and so on?
Niu Qing Bao: Chile is located in the western foothills of the South American Andes On the east coast of the Pacific Ocean, bordering Bolivia and Argentina to the east, Peru to the north, and Antarctica across the sea. It is the narrowest and longest country in the world, with a length of 4352 kilometers from north to south, exceeding the straight-line distance from the Mohe River in Heilongjiang to Sanya in Hainan; The narrowest point from east to west is only 96.8 km; The land area is about 756,700 square kilometers, which is larger than the four provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Henan and Hebei combined. In 2021, Chile has a population of about 19.4 million, a GDP of $316.6 billion, and a per capita income of nearly $17,000, making it a high-income economy.
Chile spans 39 latitudes, determining its rich landscape and diverse climate. In this narrow land, there are dense forests, vast grasslands, majestic snow-capped mountains, fertile plains, as well as flat beaches, hot deserts and cold glaciers, which can be said to be a combination of a variety of natural features around the world. The main types of climate include at least 7: the northern part has a tropical desert climate with no rain all year round; There are alpine tundra and glacial climates in the east and southeast; The central part has a subtropical Mediterranean climate with rainy winters and dry summers; Rainy temperate broad-leaved forests, boreal steppe climates and oceanic climates in the south; The Pacific possessions of Easter Island and the Juan Fernandez Islands have a humid subtropical climate and a humid and rainy climate, respectively.
Reporter: When it comes to dense forests, how high is the forest coverage rate in Chile? In addition, how large are the area of grasslands, deserts and wetlands? How many species of wildlife are there? Are there any national trees, national flowers, national birds, and national stones?
Niu Qingbao: According to the latest data in 2021, Chile's forest coverage rate is 23.8%, slightly higher than the mainland's 23.04%. The forest area is 18.03 million hectares, of which more than 80% are natural forests. The plantation covers an area of 3.29 million hectares, with two main tree species, radiata pine accounting for 62% and eucalyptus accounting for 31%. Chile's grassland and desert area are very impressive, accounting for 30.4% and 28.6% of the country's land area, respectively. With 10.5 million hectares in the north, the Atacama Desert is one of the driest regions in the world and is known as the "Dry Pole of the World". According to the 2020 survey, Chile's wetland area is 5.6 million hectares, about 7.4% of the country's land area, and 14 wetlands are included in the list of wetlands of international importance.
There are more than 33,000 species in Chile, and nearly 1/4 of the 31,000 native species are endemic, such as 41 of the 90 or so known cetacean species in the world live in Chilean waters; There are 3,300 species of mushrooms, accounting for more than 20% of the world's total. There are more than 17,000 species of wild animals and more than 7,000 species of vascular plants.
Chile currently does not have a legal national bird and national tree, but the local people generally regard the Andean vulture as the national bird and the Arau Ucaliya pine as the national tree. Chile has a national flower, called Copiué, which symbolizes the independence and freedom of the country. Lapis lazuli and The Volcanic Stone of Kongbal walita are their national stones, and lapis lazuli symbolizes light, wisdom, power and integrity.
The Andean vulture, a New World vulture endemic to South America, is the largest bird in the Western Hemisphere and one of the longest-lived birds in the world. Arau Ucalia Pine, also known as Chilean araucaria, is a very hardy evergreen tree, and the locals especially like to eat its seeds. It is worth mentioning that Chile formally legislated in 1976 and 2006 respectively to protect the Chilean Araucaria and the New World vulture as national "natural monuments". The relationship between the Chilean people and animals and plants is really not ordinary, the national emblem selects 4 species of animals and plants, and the blue, white and red three ostrich feathers at the top represent the endangered American ostrich; On the left is the brown deer endemic to the Andean region; On the right is the Andean vulture; At the bottom is the Copiue flower.
△ Andean vulture Vulturgryphus Image from marcachile.cl, courtesy of Cui Weixuan
Reporter: Many countries have animals and plants on their national emblems, and there are 4 kinds of animals and plants on the national emblem, which shows that the Chilean people really love animals and plants. What department is responsible for the protection of animals and plants in Chile and other ecological protection?
Niu Qingbao: Chile's ecological protection work involves a number of government departments, such as agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry, which is under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Fisheries Centralized Economy, and the Ministry of Ocean and Antarctic Affairs, which is led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1970, the State Forestry Administration was established under the Ministry of Agriculture, which increased the protection of wild animal and plant resources, forest ecosystems and related natural components, coordinated the supervision of forests, grasslands and wetlands, and implemented management of the natural protected area system with national parks as the main body. In 1994, Chile established the National Environment Council, and in 2010 the Ministry of the Environment was formally established. The Ministry of the Environment of Chile is responsible for formulating national environmental policies and supervising their implementation, presides over environmental assessments of major projects, and coordinates environmental matters with the international community on behalf of Chile, such as addressing global climate change and protecting biodiversity. However, land nature reserves are still managed by the State Forestry Administration. At present, the State Forestry Administration is responsible for managing 42 national parks, 46 national reserves and 18 natural attractions, with a total area of 18.62 million hectares, nearly 1/4 of Chile's territory.
The conservation of flora and fauna in Chile began relatively early, with the first national forest reserve and the first national park established in 1907 and 1926, respectively. The first Hunting Act and the first Forest Act were promulgated in 1929 and 1931, respectively. The Forest Promotion Act was promulgated in 1974 and the National System of Protected Areas for Wild Fauna and Flora was created in 1984 to regulate the conservation and sustainable management of natural ecosystems. The Comprehensive Environmental Law was enacted in 1994, which stipulates that an environmental impact assessment must be carried out in advance for any activity in a national park, and the State Forestry Administration is responsible for reviewing environmental impact assessment reports on forestry and wild nature reserves. In 1997, the Law on the Protection of Natural Forests was promulgated, and in 2008, the Law on the Restoration of Wild Forests and the Development of Forestry was promulgated, and penalties for illegal exploitation of primary forests were introduced, stipulating that the State Forestry Administration should be in charge of the restoration of forest ecosystems. In addition, the Hunting Law, which came into effect in 1996, further improved the laws and regulations on wildlife protection.
Reporter: What else do you know about the functions of the Chilean State Forestry Agency?
Niu Qingbao: The State Forestry Administration of Chile is an important functional department, with regional forestry bureaus in 56 provinces in 16 regions across the country, with about 112,000 employees in the whole industry. In addition to the functions mentioned above, it is also responsible for improving the corresponding policy and regulatory system, and it is also specifically responsible for formulating and implementing national forestry policies, such as ensuring the protection, growth and sustainable use of forest resources, and afforestation of 80,000 hectares in 2020. Forests, grasslands, deserts, wetlands, nature reserves, wildlife protection, forest and grassland fire prevention, etc. are all under the jurisdiction of the State Forestry Administration. Taking forest fire prevention as an example, staff will frequently go deep into the community to publicize fire prevention knowledge, teach fire fighting skills, and guide response methods. Once a fire occurs, all parties can be immediately mobilized to jointly extinguish the fire.
The State Forestry Administration has made important contributions to promoting forestry development and desertification control, and has won Chile a good reputation in the international community, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations praised Chile as "a model for forestry in Latin America". The Executive Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean elected Chile as its General Representative to attend the 14th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, among others.
In recent years, the National Forestry Agency of Chile has also done a great deal of fruitful work in mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change, such as the ongoing World Bank project "Preventing Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Increasing Forest Carbon Stocks to Reduce Emissions", and the Green Climate Fund project "Restoring Chile's Forests" jointly designed by the Government of Chile and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
△ Southern Lake Region Osorno Volcano Photo by Zhu Lei
Reporter: Involving ecological industries, the local custom is to call ecological industry, green industry or environmental protection industry? What is the status of Chilean forestry in the national economy? Are there statistics on forestry output?
Niu Qing Pao: Chile rarely uses the term ecological industry, green industry or environmental protection industry, usually divided by commercial nature, such as renewable energy projects. The forestry industry is one of the important pillar industries of Chile's national economy, with the world's advanced level of sawmills and wood reprocessing plants.
Chilean forestry adopts sustainable business models. Over the past few decades, forestry output has remained at 2-3% of Chile's national GDP and 8-10% of total exports. In 2020, forestry output value was 3.39 billion US dollars, accounting for about 2% of Chile's GDP; About $4.95 billion was exported of forest products.
There are many kinds of forest products, from small parts and stationery to prefabricated houses, as well as panels, trays, floors, doors, custom wood pieces and so on. The main export products are industrial logs, sawn timber, wood lines, panels, veneers, wood pellets, wood-based panels, pulp, paper and paperboard. These products are sold in more than 120 markets around the world and are known worldwide for their good quality. 70% of Chile's forest products are certified as productive forests, 30% higher than the global average.
China has been the premier destination for Chilean forest product exports for many years. Taking the staple product pulp as an example, in 2019, Chile exported 2.4 billion US dollars, of which 1.3 billion US dollars were exported to China; In 2021, Chile exported $2.753 billion, of which $1.629 billion was exported to China. It can be seen that China is not only the largest export market for Chilean forest products, but also absorbs almost all the increase in Chilean forest products exports.
Reporter: Do local media report a lot of news about ecology? How is education for students and the public?
Niu Qingbao: My impression is that overall it is not bad, and Chilean national television, CNN Chile television, TV 13, etc. have set up relevant columns. In addition, government websites have free videos and e-books, etc.; There are also related journals, such as Forest science and research published by the Chilean Forestry Institute.
The Courier, Chile's largest print media, features a special issue of Pastoral on Mondays on plants, animals, ecological protection and sustainable forestry; Every Thursday, the innovation magazine includes addressing climate change and global warming, developing sustainable water resources, clean energy, pollution control, etc. There are also the latest achievements of high-tech in the field of ecological and environmental protection such as robots, the Internet and artificial intelligence; The weekend magazine Sunday launched the "Chilean Endangered Animals" section in May 2017 and has introduced more than 240 endangered animals to date.
As far as ecological environmental protection education is concerned, they have been working on this work since primary and secondary schools, and universities have majors in ecological environment. The Ministry of the Environment has a special Department of Environmental Education and Civic Engagement, which is responsible for disseminating knowledge to the public about the protection of the natural environment and also conducts some training work. However, some public and non-profit assessment agencies believe that Chile's ecological and environmental protection work is not enough.
△ Calceolaria corymbose, an endemic species of Chile, was photographed by Cui Weiwei
Reporter: What kind of cooperation has Chile and China had in the field of forestry?
Niu Qingbao: In the past decade, President Xi Jinping has met with Chile's recent president Pinheira and former President Bachelet several times, which has elevated bilateral relations to a new height. In 2013, when President Xi Jinping attended the 21st APEC Economic Leaders' Informal Meeting held in Bali, Indonesia, he identified with President Pinera as one of the broader areas of cooperation between the two countries, including forest products and processed products. Today, China has become the main export destination of Chilean forest products, which directly drives and promotes the rapid development of Chilean forestry.
The exchanges and cooperation between China and Chile in the field of forestry are multifaceted. In May 2018, the head of the Management Center for Combating Desertification of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration led a delegation to visit Chile to exchange experience in combating desertification and land degradation with officials of the State Forestry Administration of Chile and the Environmental Protection Bureau of the First Region, gave a special lecture on Sand Control and Sand Control in China at the Ecological Protection Education Base, and visited the Pampa National Nature Reserve in Tamarougar Province. China Forest Products Industry Co., Ltd. and Chilean Gisse Investment Co., Ltd. signed a cooperation agreement in Beijing to connect with Chile's abundant forest products and the huge market demand in the mainland.
Reporter: Do you see what else you want to introduce to domestic readers?
Niu Qingbao: In 2010, the Chilean National Environmental Protection Commission launched and hosted the "Walk Around Chile" campaign to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, from the plateau in the north to the Patagonia steppe in the south, passing through Easter Island, Juan Fernandez Islands and the main island of Chiloe, etc., designing astronomy tourism in the "World Dry Pole" Atacama Desert, plateau biosphere sightseeing in the Alpine wetlands of the Andes Mountains, exploration of mysterious islands and hot world hotspots in the south, and experience of the Fuego Island Ecosphere Reserve at the southern end. The brand has had a profound impact to this day. Welcome domestic friends to find the opportunity to come to "walk all over Chile"! (Article/Special Correspondent Wang Xizhi of this magazine thanked Ms. Li Xiaoxian for her help for this interview, Green China, 2022.5A)