Real estate developers on the prowl: the uncertain future of Bosque Panul
-The current Michelle Bachelet administration has three months left to fulfill its promise of creating official protection for Bosque Panul, Santiago's last native forest, which today is in the hands of real estate developers.
-These developers recorded historic gains on the stock exchange following the election of Sebastián Piñera.
-Let us recall that it was Piñera who eliminated environmental review requirements for real estate developers during his previous government — a measure that was reversed thanks to timely action by the community.
-Given this scenario, the future of Bosque Panul and the Santiago precordillera becomes even more uncertain.
Three years ago, Santiago's Intendant Claudio Orrego committed to creating "some protection for Bosque Panul" — protection that has yet to materialize. What did happen was an attempted modification of the current Santiago Metropolitan Zoning Plan, which sought to expand the city, especially toward the Andean precordillera. To compensate for the tremendous environmental damage, patches of vegetation would be left with some degree of protection. Since this modification gained neither social nor political support, it came to nothing — and it made clear that there is an unresolved debate about the explosive growth the city has undergone and all the consequences this entails.
The proposal of newly elected President Sebastián Piñera to further increase urban growth in the capital worsens this scenario. Let us recall that during his previous term, real estate developers recorded historic profits and obtained genuinely concerning legal privileges — including the elimination of environmental review requirements for their projects in the most polluted areas of the country. The obvious environmental impact generated by this industry (such as the 1,300 homes that were to replace 200 hectares of native forest at Fundo Panul) led to this measure being reversed at the start of Bachelet's second government, thanks to a legal action filed by the Environmental Law Clinic of Universidad Diego Portales, Red Precordillera, Defendamos la ciudad, and other organizations. Today the Supreme Court is reviewing the projects that were approved.
But this situation could change again. Or at least that is how the industry understood it — because one day after Piñera's election, construction and real estate companies recorded historic gains on the Santiago Stock Exchange, with their shares rising 12.21%. The construction company Besalco and the real estate firm Socovesa were the biggest winners, with increases of 28.5% and 25.8% respectively.
All of this, combined with the environmental deprotection and the downgrading of National Parks and Reserves carried out during Piñera's previous government, seriously threatens the future of the last forests in our polluted city, accelerating global warming and its effects on our valley. This is especially concerning given that the president-elect plans to persevere in "fast-tracking" investment projects — resurrecting the illegal and defunct CAI of Pablo Longueira (Investment Acceleration Committee) under the name of "Investment Project Management Office." Let us recall that the CAI tried to unblock emblematic projects, such as the one planned for Bosque Panul, despite it having been rejected by the environmental authority.
It is to be hoped that in the remaining time of her government, Michelle Bachelet will fulfill her promise to protect Panul. Meanwhile, the community is preparing a strong defense of its territory.
Red Precordillera
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