MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Spanish pulp group admits deforesting “error” in Uruguay

Uruguay suspended a Spanish pulp mill forestry plans following the discovery the group had cleared hectares of natural forest to have it replaced by eucalyptus. An investigation will determine the fine and reparation work the ENCE group will have to undertake.

Although the company admitted the "error" and has promised to replant the 80 plus hectares with the original vegetation, ENCE plans to expand its eucalyptus plantation in the province of Paysandu have been suspended. The investigation from the Uruguayan Ministry of Agriculture will include all ENCE forestry investments in other parts of the country. "A responsible citizen, very much aware of what was at stake filed the complaint" revealed Deputy Agriculture minister Andres Berterreche. "We will have to quantify the damage to the natural resources and then decide on the economic sanction", he added. However Berreteche said this is not the first time indiscriminate deforesting takes place: with expanding agriculture "we have been faced with similar situations in three cases last year" but this is a pulp mill's first. Nevertheless he did not explain why Forestry Department officials, who supposedly regularly inspect native forests, did not warn about what was going on. Land with native forests in Uruguay is not only protected but is also fiscally deductible. In an official paid release in the Uruguayan media ENCE admits the error and anticipates it will abide by the Ministry's decision and in the framework of its social responsibility policy "will proceed with the compensation measures which are being assessed by Uruguayan authorities". ENCE which is partly owned by the Spanish government and has faced claims of alleged pollution in its plants in Spain has been in Uruguay for over a decade and was supposed to build its factory in Fray Bentos where Finland's Botnia finally established itself. But with the change of government in Spain when the Socialists took office the company was audited and revamped while at the same time yielding to pressure from Argentina admitted the relocation of the plant. Argentina alleges pulp mills contaminate and has consistently protested, at all levels from pickets to the International Court of The Hague, that pulp mills contaminate and claims Uruguay approved the building of the Botnia mill without consulting Buenos Aires. The river Uruguay which acts as a natural border between the neighboring countries is a jointly managed waterway, based on a treaty dating back to 1975. ENCE finally decided to relocate its plant in Colonia, next to the River Plate where only recently has begun clearing the land for its 1.8 billion US dollars investment, (one million tons annually) which is pending on some details from the environmental impact assessment study. Anyhow it's considered a fact that ENCE will build the pulp mill since earlier this month the company was given the green light for a port in Conchillas, to where logs will be transported on barges and the pulp in cargo vessels overseas.