Ministry of Public Works and Municipality of La Florida destroy an important ravine in Bosque Panul
Two excavators entered to "clean" the ravine located at the park entrance, through a contract awarded by the Ministry of Public Works at the request of the Municipality of La Florida.
This ravine has abundant vegetation and is "stabilized," making the measure completely absurd — it is only destroying an ecosystem that has survived real estate pressure for decades, while also increasing the risk of landslides and flooding.
A disturbing sight greeted the seventh-grade students of Colegio Francisco Varela and guides from Red Precordillera who were visiting Bosque Panul today. Two excavators were destroying the ravine immediately south of the entrance, while also demolishing part of the entrance itself.
The reason was a request from Mayor Rodolfo Carter to "clean" this ravine, which was accepted, incorporated, and tendered by the Ministry of Public Works.
The machines entered 50 meters into the community park to begin "clearing all obstructive elements: trees, shrubs, roots, trunks, grasses, boulders, etc.", destroying massive, completely healthy trees.
The geographer from the Universidad de Chile who collaborated on the Municipality of La Florida's Risk Study, Francisca Carrasco, states that "it is absurd to use machines that left the material loosened — material that was not like that before and was stabilized by these trees, which were giving the soil its firmness. The hillside of the ravine was stabilized. Those trees, rather than being swept downstream, were providing support to prevent material from flowing downhill in the event of rain or some other threat. By widening the ravine, they have done something that in the next rain could erode sideways — in soil that we already know is heavily eroded by bicycles. Moreover, I don't know whether they conducted a soil study to determine whether it was necessary or not to remove and 'clean' that ravine, because how active is that ravine? Do they know or not? If it has not been active for a long time it's because it is very stable — and now they have made it active, especially at this time of year!"
Furthermore, ravines are vitally important for the Andean ecosystem. They are watercourses, both surface and underground, that support the existence of species requiring greater humidity. For this reason, they carry air currents that help clean the city's smog. The great quantity of flora and fauna they shelter creates genuine "biodiversity corridors" that, if better managed, could be incorporated and protected within our city.
This is an irrational measure — an attack against nature. The community that defends Panul will not stand idly by. We have been resisting real estate pressure for decades; corrupt and incompetent authorities will not be the ones to destroy this important ecosystem now. We will not allow it.
Red por la Defensa de la Precordillera.
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