Eucalyptus Plantation. Photography extracted from “Eucalyptus to kill biodiversity” (SolonFundation.org, 2020). 

Social sustainability amid violence: the Chilean example of tree monocultures

By Daniel Santander Urrutia 

The seed of the monoculture model 

The tree monoculture model, or the practice of planting single species on a large scale, originated in Europe during the 18th century to maximize production and meet the industrial and commercial demands from a world undergoing rapid and often unchecked economic expansion.

As the model spread across Europe into the early twentieth century, concerns began to surface about the diseases, soil degradation, and loss of biodiversity associated.

Unlike countries such as Germany and Norway, which increasingly emphasize more diverse, native species-focused forestry approaches, the Latin American model relies heavily on exotic species, especially pine and eucalyptus. In contrast, European models increasingly integrate monoculture plantations within a broader landscape of mixed and native forests and adopt “close-to-nature

Following the “Green Revolution,” tree monoculture spread to Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Latin America, where it gained traction through the use of fast-growing exotic species such as eucalyptus and pine, primarily to supply the pulp and paper industry. This expansion was enabled by the availability of so-called “cheap” land—made “cheap” due to political instability, power

The adaptation of monocultures to the Chilean environment

The history of monoculture forestry in Chile stands as one of the most iconic—and troubling—cases globally. The establishment of “forest plantations” has been marked by conflict since their origin, deeply rooted in the dispossession of Mapuche lands during the Chilean military occupation of Araucanía, euphemistically called the "pacification" (1861–1883). This campaign resulted in the Mapuche losing control of approximately 9.5 million hectares of ancestral territory (Barrega A., 1999; Torres-Salinas, 2016).

 In the 1930s, over lands forcibly taken from Mapuche communities, the Chilean government began promoting tree plantations to develop a domestic timber industry, as part of a broader strategy of state-led development and import-substitution industrialization (Schmalz S., et al., 2023; Ulloa M., 2021). These policies, built on expropriated territory, established the foundation for enduring conflicts over land and resources.

It was during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973–1990), however, that the sector witnessed explosive growth. The regime’s neoliberal economic policies—including Decree Law 701 of 1974—provided substantial subsidies and tax incentives for forest plantations, overwhelmingly benefitting large corporations (World Rainforest Movement, 2023; Sotomayor C., 2023; OLCA, 2012; Niklitschek M., et al., 2021).

Pinochet’s government also launched a counter-agrarian reform, aimed at reversing land restitutions made during Chile's Agrarian Reform era, implemented during the administrations of Jorge Alessandri (1958–1964), Eduardo Frei Montalva (1964–1970), and Salvador Allende (1970–1973) (Chonchol J., 2018).

Land previously restored to Indigenous and peasant communities was privatized or transferred to forestry corporations—entrenching patterns of usurpation and setting the stage for contemporary conflicts over territory, rights, and justice.

The counter-reform was orchestrated by the military dictatorship, with input from far-right economists, and under the supervision and guidance of the U.S. government and the CIA (Prieto B., 2013). Its goal was to return lands and capital to private hands following the preceding period of redistribution. This process was marked by severe violence and disproportionately affected both agricultural and forested lands held by peasants and Indigenous communities (Salem V., 2020; Arraño N., 2023).

The re-privatization and land redistribution policies promoted by Pinochet led to a renewed concentration of land ownership in the hands of a rural elite, consolidated primarily through Decree Law 701, which became the sector’s cornerstone. Large economic groups, notably the Matte and Angelini conglomerates—both active supporters of the dictatorship—benefited most from these measures (OLCA, 2015; Radio Universidad de Chile, 2021).

The policy included subsidies, with the state covering up to 75% of the costs of establishing forest plantations on private land. It also offered tax incentives, including reductions in income tax for owners of forested land. The owners of these  lands received industry promotion as help and assistance for the expansion of forest plantations, a coordinated effort between the state and private interests that resulted in the dispossession of Indigenous and peasant lands, accompanied by the burning of native forests to establish monoculture plantations (Periódico Resumen, 2014; Ojo de Treile & RESUMEN, 2023).

This model of usurpation and over-plantation rapidly spread to other Latin American countries (Bull G. et al., 2006), including Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. Over time, it was frequently supported by international financial institutions and facilitated by government subsidies within the framework of corporate-driven globalization (Kröger M., 2012; 2014), justified as a strategy for economic development and environmental conservation. The promise of rapid growth, high yields, and potential carbon sequestration made pine and eucalyptus the preferred species for these monoculture plantations (Diálogo Chino, 2023).

Business as usual 

Chile boasts over 3 million hectares of forest plantations, predominantly composed of exotic species such as Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus globulus. These plantations have transformed the natural landscape and rural life, highlighting conflicts, changes, and constraints inherent in the extractive forestry model (Hernandez M., 2024).

The forestry sector has become a cornerstone of the national economy, contributing approximately 2.1% of GDP and accounting for 9% of total exports as of 2020 (World Rainforest Movement, 2023). Similar trends are observed throughout the region, with Brazil leading in plantation area, followed by Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay (Diálogo Chino, 2023; Greenpeace Colombia, 2023).

Chile is now transitioning toward mixed agricultural and forestry production, with efforts underway to develop “multifunctional plantations” that aim to conserve biodiversity while producing both timber and non-timber forest products. This approach claim to align with principles of the circular economy and climate change mitigation, as businesses state to promote biodiversity, soil health, and overall ecosystem resilience alongside economic productivity (Diálogo Chino, 2023; En el Américas, 2023).

As global attention increasingly shifts towards addressing climate change and promoting often vague sustainable development goals, the role of monoculture forestry in Latin America, including Chile, in the light of the facts, must be critically reevaluated.

Poverty after development

Industries strive to present themselves as drivers of local development, emphasizing the macroeconomic benefits of forestry while attempting to leave behind the history of abuses perpetrated by the state and corporations against local communities and former landowners.

Nevertheless, perceptions of industrial presence tend to be more negative among those living closer to forestry operations and historical conflict areas (Fawaz M., 2012). In such cases, there is also less acceptance of the expansion of forest plantations as a catalyst for sustainable local development (Fawaz M., 2012).

The documentary "Flames of Dispossession" (Resumen, 2023) illustrates the reality faced by these rural territories, which continue to be marked by cycles of dispossession

“I was born and raised on this farm, and I left when I was 18. Forestal took me away from here, since they were kings and lords. They told my father and took his land, and we had to leave. Forestal burned this same area down here, the first thing they touched was from here down. Then they burned everything here, they set fire to it any day they wanted. When it was time to burn, they set it. Let the poor little animals hear, some escaped, others didn’t.”

This is the case in Mundo Nuevo (Curanilahue), a town in southern Chile where peasant families have a longstanding struggle with forestry companies over their lands (Resumen, 2023). These historical grievances, when combined with environmental conflicts, create complex scenarios for stakeholders, companies, and communities.

According to the research from M. Julia Fawaz (2012), municipal authorities indicate that forestry expansion has a decisive impact on rural emigration, increased unemployment in forested areas, the emergence of new issues in urban areas adjacent to forests, the creation or worsening of environmental problems, and growing complexity in local governance.

This view is also shared by small-scale producers, who report a negative perception of forestry plantation expansion. Alongside the uprooting and migration to neighboring towns and villages, they experience job loss and a decline in agricultural integration (Fawaz M., 2012).

According to the research from M. Julia Fawaz (2012), municipal authorities indicate that forestry expansion has a decisive impact on rural emigration, increased unemployment in forested areas, the emergence of new issues in urban areas adjacent to forests, the creation or worsening of environmental problems, and growing complexity in local governance.

This view is also shared by small-scale producers, who report a negative perception of forestry plantation expansion. Alongside the uprooting and migration to neighboring towns and villages, they experience job loss and a decline in agricultural integration (Fawaz M., 2012). 

Some communes in southern Chile where the forestry industry dominates have shown almost double the poverty rate of the national average (Terram, 2010). In this regard, there is a widespread sense of dissatisfaction due to the failure to deliver the promised local development.

Virtually all local stakeholders in M. Julia Fawaz’s research (2012) agree that the main factor shaping negative perceptions of forestry activity is the inadequacy and low quality of the jobs it has generated. Large forestry companies displace people from their traditional homes, depriving them of subsistence-based productive activities and leaving them without employment.

While the forestry industry has contributed to higher export revenues, it has also produced significant social externalities, including rising poverty in areas dominated by monocultures (WRM, 2025).

In 2016, Macarena Valdés, a Mapuche environmental activist who opposed the construction of a hydroelectric project by the Austrian company RP Global on ancestral territory, was found dead under suspicious circumstances. Officially, her death was ruled a suicide. However, her family and community, supported by multiple forensic investigations, assert that her death was the result of threats, violence, and harassment linked to her activism against the company (El Ciudadano, 2024).

These factors, together with the episodes of violence discussed in the following pages, result in population emigration—the displacement and relocation of families—leading to employment issues that worsen rural living conditions. The situation is compounded when environmental impacts intersect with social challenges and enduring resistance from Indigenous communities.

Mapuche Conflict

The expansion of monoculture plantations in Chile has intensified Mapuche claims to their ancestral land, escalating the violence surrounding this longstanding conflict. The struggle is not only for the recovery of forcibly taken land but also a defense of Mother Nature. For the Mapuche people, the fight for land is fundamentally a fight for life itself, for the “Ñuke Mapu” (Mother Earth) and “Pachamama”.

In recent years, the conflict has escalated with protests, land occupations, and frequent violent confrontations. Seguel (2021) reports that between 2017 and 2021, over 2,500 acts of violence related to the Mapuche conflict occurred in the Araucanía region alone, many directly linked to disputes over forestry plantations.

The Chilean forestry model has resulted in “territorial dispossession and the proletarianization of the Mapuche people” (Torres-Salinas et al., 2016). As Mapuche communities demand land restitution and respect for their rights, they face violent repression. Patterns of murders, attacks, and threats target Mapuche leaders, activists, and community members amid ongoing territorial disputes with forestry companies.

Environmental conflicts caused by monoculture tree plantations have claimed numerous lives. For example, 17-year-old Zenén Díaz died in 2005 after being run over by a logging truck during a demonstration in La Araucanía.

Julia Chuñil, a Mapuche leader and environmental defender, has been missing since March 2025. At beginnings of October it was discovered by the lawyers of the family that she was burned.

According to the family, there is an audio on which a businessman says "she was burned". The courts admitted a complaint against the Los Ríos Regional Prosecutor and a police officer, whom the missing woman's children accuse of unlawful coercion (ElMostrador, 2025).

Social movements and local communities associate her disappearance with threats she received due to her environmental defense work.

Criminalization, the application of anti-terrorism laws, and militarization frequently target Mapuche communities. Attacks on ancestral territories and assaults against defenders often occur with the complicity or inaction of the State. 

The powerful holding companies that own monoculture tree plantations claim to be sustainable, but they are being the hotspot for violence over ancestral Indigenous lands and ancient forests. Forestal Mininco  (CMPC, owned by Matte group) is in a land dispute with the Temucuicui community, which suffers constant police assaults and military presence under a state of emergency. Forestal Arauco (owned by Angelini group) also faces disputes over several territories with unresolved land titles. These conflicts have led to cross-border violence and repeated arson attacks against forestry facilities and machinery, provoking violent police reprisals against the communities.

Cases of gunfire during repression of Mapuche communities over territorial conflicts have resulted in numerous deaths. Many young Mapuche individuals have been killed by police over the past 20 years, including Rafael Nahuel (22 years old), Matías Catrileo (24), Ariel Lemun (17), Jaime Mendoza (24), Camilo Catrillanca (24), and Pablo Marchant (21) (La Izquierda Diario, 2023). 

The violence surrounding these conflicts is spreading in all directions, affecting police officers and landowners, some of whom have died under unclear circumstances. Eugenio Nain, a Mapuche Second Corporal in the Carabineros, was killed in 2020 during an operation responding to a roadblock with barricades in Metrenco (Araucanía), in the context of opposition to the BESALCO electric substation (La Tercera, 2025)

One of the most violent situations occurred in 2024, when three police officers were shot, and their patrol car was then set on fire with them inside: Sargent Carlos Cisterna and Corporals Sergio Arévalo & Misael Vidal (Deutsche Welle, 2023). Those arrested in this case are nephews of Carlos Antihuen, who was under nighttime house arrest and whom the police went to inspect at the time of being murdered (Radio Universidad de Chile, 2025).

Since the late 1990s, multiple attacks on trucks, machinery, and properties owned by companies such as Forestal Arauco and Mininco have been reported as acts of territorial resistance and protest against the expansion of monoculture forest plantations. The militarization of the region, including the deployment of the army and special state forces in support of the police, has increased alongside rising repression and reports of excessive state violence in a territory where native forests have largely been replaced by monocultures.

Wildfires

In addition to social conflicts, Chile has experienced devastating mega-fires in recent years, particularly in areas dominated by monoculture plantations. The 2017 fires, which burned over 500,000 hectares, were the worst in Chile’s recorded history (González et al., 2020a; 2020b). These fires disproportionately affected not only the ancestral lands of the Mapuche people but also rural communities, destroying homes, livelihoods, and ecosystems (González M., et al., 2011; 2020a).

Nearby communities suffer from respiratory problems, post-traumatic stress, and other illnesses due to smoke inhalation, constant threat, and the loss of safe and healthy environments. Repeated exposure to risk and destruction fractures the social fabric, causes rural migration to cities, and increases structural poverty in affected rural areas.

The predominance of monoculture plantations has increased both fire risk and severity in Chile (González et al., 2020). The uniform structure and composition of these plantations create conditions that facilitate rapid fire spread, placing nearby communities at elevated risk. These aspects will be discussed in more detail in a future article.

So, can monocultures be considered sustainable?

While monoculture forestry has allegedly contributed to Chile’s national economy, its local benefits are often limited. The transition to a forestry-based industry altered rural labor dynamics, leading to significant changes in employment: “the expansion of plantation forestry between 2001 and 2011 increased municipal poverty rates and decreased municipal revenues” (Andersson et al., 2016).

The loss of native forests and traditional agricultural lands has led to a significant erosion of Mapuche cultural practices and traditional ecological knowledge. Mapuche communities in areas dominated by forestry plantations have experienced a profound loss of their environmental stewardship and way of life (Barreau et al., 2016).

In 2025, the Chilean government made progress in institutionalizing the "just transition," focusing on the southern territories and the historical conflict with the Mapuche people. Following the final report of the Peace and Understanding Commission, President Boric announced new laws for Indigenous recognition, profound reforms to the land restitution system, and reparations for both Mapuche and non-Indigenous victims of rural violence (Baarda, 2025).

However, many Mapuche leaders and communities have criticized the consultation process and the slow pace of land transfers, pointing out that Mapuche participation in the design and implementation of the measures remains insufficient and that the administrative backlog could extend for decades without structural changes (Baarda, 2025).

Regarding the recent megafires in southern Chile (Araucanía, Biobío), the government implemented emergency subsidies, reconstruction programs, and support for mental health, housing, and access to clean water. Of the more than 3,000 families affected by the most serious fires, more than 40% have received or are in the process of receiving reconstruction subsidies, and hundreds of homes are under construction or in the project phase (Reuters 2025). However, local authorities and social movements have denounced significant delays, demanded greater clarity and speed, and highlighted that many families remain without a definitive solution more than a year later.

This “green desert” breeds both resistance and aspirations for a better future. The impacts ripple outward, harming diverse communities across social, ecological and spiritual dimensions.

The negative perception of tree monoculture expansion reflects structural problems, from job insecurity to social and cultural exclusion, which require a comprehensive approach based on environmental justice and territorial restitution. Thus, advancing lasting solutions requires recognizing and addressing these social impacts, along with promoting forestry models that integrate ecological sustainability and respect for the communities.

For now, the monoculture tree plantation industry in Chile is far from being socially sustainable.

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