Environmental Court accepts lawsuit over contamination in Bosque Panul
- A year and a half ago, the community raised the alarm about the dumping of tonnes of sea sand at more than 80 points within Bosque Panul, which was drying out and damaging its fragile ecosystem, including in ravines that drain directly into the city.
- The Ministry of the Environment resolved to close the investigation, since in its view Panul is not "under official protection" — meaning the owners could continue polluting the forest despite having no environmental permits.
- The community, together with the Environmental Law Clinic of Universidad Diego Portales, filed a lawsuit against the Ministry, a legal action that was admitted for processing by the Second Environmental Court of Santiago and will be resolved in the coming days.
As the community denounced in 2016, for 30 years a serious environmental harm has been occurring every day in Bosque Panul. This consists of the dumping of tonnes of sea sand produced by the company Gelymar (owners of Fundo Panul, the Navarrete Rolando family) at more than 80 points throughout the forest, including ravines.
The community then asked the environmental authority to require the owners of Panul to obtain the relevant permits, as an ecosystem protected by law was being damaged. However, the ministry dismissed these arguments and resolved that the forest is completely unprotected, for which reason it can continue to be polluted.
In response to this decision, the Red Precordillera, represented by the Environmental Law Clinic of Universidad Diego Portales, filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of the Environment and those found responsible for the environmental damage. This action was admitted for processing by the Second Environmental Court of Santiago, and must be resolved within the next 10 days.
The environmental contamination of Bosque Panul has also not been monitored by other agencies that are obliged to do so, such as the Municipality of La Florida or the Dirección General de Aguas, particularly regarding the affected ravines.
The outcome of this lawsuit is important, as the community will finally learn whether Bosque Panul is — or is not — an area under official protection, and whether it can — or cannot — be polluted without environmental permits.
Red Precordillera
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