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Torres del Paine Park fire out of control; Project to grow fresh lettuce in Antarctica; Copper makes Chilean peso surge.

Torres del Paine Park fire out of control

Almost two hundred firemen, soldiers and volunteers are desperately fighting a fire that broke out last Thursday in the world known Torres del Paine Park in Chilean Patagonia and which already has devoured 8,500 hectares. Extreme drought conditions have turned the Park's woods and grasslands highly flammable and prospects for what seems a loosing battle are not encouraging: next Tuesday 70/90 kilometres strong winds have been forecasted. Chilean Forestry Corporation personnel, regional firemen with support from contingents flown in from other regions and Santiago plus Argentine colleagues from Rio Turbio and Rio Gallegos, servicemen and volunteers with Chilean Army logistics are trying to cut off the advance of the flames which are concentrated in the Lago Paine and Laguna Amarga area. Thousands of hectares of natural forest, dating back centuries, and wildlife habitats are being consumed by the fire which was accidentally started by a Czech camper who dropped a small gas stove and couldn't prevent the flames from advancing pushed by strong winds. Mr. Jiri Smitak, 31, admitted his responsibility (negligence) and was given the maximum sentence for such involuntary cases: a fine equivalent to 230 US dollars, and set free to leave Chile. "We've asked reinforcements from the Armed Forces and they should be arriving in the next 24 hours", said Eduardo Fueyo, head of the XII Region Forestry Corporation. Mr. Fueyo admitted the Corporation was not prepared for a fire of such a magnitude and revealed that it had began to slip into neighbouring estancias, but apparently farmers with heavy equipment had managed to control the flames. "In the XII Region our main problem is climatic. Unless it rains torrentially, which means the fire would be out in a day, we must admit it's out of control since weather forecasts indicate 70 to 90 kilometres strong winds next Tuesday, besides the fact that it keeps rotating", stressed Mr. Fueyo. The last dramatic situation dates back to 1985 when 14,000 hectares were lost to fire. Torres del Paine, a biosphere reserve is considered one of the main attractions of southern Chile and is 400 kilometres north of Punta Arenas, next to Puerto Natales. In spite of the red alert, local authorities so far have not closed the Park which is in high season but are insisting that tourists be extremely careful with cigarettes, camp fires and dumping glass bottles.

Project to grow fresh lettuce in Antarctica

An Experimental Hydroponics Module project for growing lettuce in Antarctica was approved by Chilean environmental authorities and will be shipped to Bernardo O'Higgins base in the coming days, reports La Prensa Austral from Punta Arenas. The project is under the supervision of eco-physiologist Maria Luisa Tapia with the collaboration of the Universidad de Chile Agriculture Sciences Department and support from the Chilean Army. "We have the green light from the Antarctic Territories Environmental Assessment National Committee, CONAMA, and our objective is to study vegetables in a closed system such as in the O'Higgins base", said Ms. Tapia. Apparently the original project was ready in 2000 and was to be established with the Poles, but logistics problems delayed it. Ms. Tapia then went with the idea to the Chilean Army Antarctic Department and "they were most enthusiastic". According to the agreement Army personnel will be looking after the hydroponics lettuce lab, taking records and sending the information via internet to Ms. Tapia during winter months. The project is expected to begin this February and extend for twelve months. "This type of initiative is conditioned to basic (Chilean) environmental legislation plus the environmental requirements established in the Madrid Protocol and Antarctic Environment Protection", revealed Maria Luisa Ojeda head of the regional CONAMA office. "We're interested in following growth patters of precocious horticulture strains, with low thermal and light requirements, edible, and exposed to extreme radiation conditions, which could even help the lads enjoy some fresh vegetables", concluded Ms. Ojeda.

Copper makes Chilean peso surge

The US dollar again dropped last week against the Chilean peso and is expected to open operations this Monday in the range of 560/570 pesos to the greenback. The strong appreciation of the Chilean currency is not only founded in the US dollar international weakness but in the sustained demand for copper, the country's main export, which last week reached another recent record in London, 1,52 US dollar the lb., the highest since 1989. The booming Chinese economy has become the main Chilean copper client and prospects of a solid demand in 2005 have helped to boost metal markets with the three months future last Friday closed at 1,45966 US dollars. Chile also has plans to increase copper production in 2005. Although a weak US dollar can complicate export deals because of local costs increase, the bright side of a strong Chilean peso is that dollar imports become cheaper. For example fuel prices in Chile this Monday are forecasted to drop.