The Valdivia wood pulp plant, owned by the forestry arm of Chile's biggest industrial group Copec, seriously polluted a wetlands sanctuary, causing the deaths of black-necked swans, said an official report published Monday.
SANTIAGO, Chile — The Valdivia wood pulp plant, owned by the forestry arm of Chile's biggest industrial group Copec, seriously polluted a wetlands sanctuary, causing the deaths of black-necked swans, said an official report published Monday.
The deaths of hundreds of black-necked swans in wetlands around the southern Chilean coastal city of Valdivia provoked a national outcry. Forestry is the second biggest industry after mining in this South American nation.
The report directly identifies waste from the Valdivia plant as the main factor in the demise of the swans, Jose Luis Garcia, director of the government environmental agency in the region where the plant operates, told Reuters by telephone.
Garcia said the environmental agency will send the report to the State Defense Counsel, which would bring criminal charges if they apply.
"The activities of the Valdivia plant were significantly responsible for environmental changes in the Cruces wetlands during the last year," said a summary of the 540-page report by scientists at Austral de Valdivia university. The report was commissioned by the National Environmental Commission.
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The Valdivia plant, which began operations last year, was shut down by the government for two weeks earlier this year due to environmental infractions related to the handling of waste water.
The plant accounts for about 25 percent of the pulp production of Arauco, one of Latin America's biggest forestry companies with five pulp plants producing 2.3 billion tons of pulp a year. Arauco is part of Empresas Copec, a conglomerate that also has gas stations, fisheries and retail operations.
The report found waste water from the plant had changed the chemistry in the wetlands, causing water weeds that the swans feed on to die off.
The swans are not an endangered species, but are beloved as a symbol of Valdivia, built in a maze of rivers and swampy areas. Many swans died of starvation but others migrated to other wetlands in search of food.
Source: Reuters
