Issue 108 - Quin-Quen Win Rights to Trees and Pine-nuts

quin-quen win rights to trees and pine-nuts

friends of the earth chile

The Araucaria, or Monkey Puzzle tree, can reach more than 2500 years of age and is thus one of earth's longest-living tree species. It is both essential and sacred to the Native American Pehuenches, who have included its pine-nuts in their diet since time immemorial. In their native language, “pehuen” means Araucaria, and Pehuenche thus means “people of the Araucaria”. In 1987, during the military dictatorship, Quin-Quen Pehuenche community members were outraged by a new law authorizing the felling of Araucaria trees. This law, backed by timber companies keen to exploit forestry resources, jeopardized previously protected ancient forests.

Community leaders contacted CODEFF/Friends of the Earth Chile for support in building a network of environmental and social organizations to fight for the Araucaria. In 1990, the Quin-Quen, backed by a citizens' movement, finally attained the protection of the tree species when Chile regained its democracy.

However, the Quin-Quen's lands now officially belonged to the same forestry companies that had challenged the legal protection of the Araucaria. As a reprisal for the community's triumph over commercial trade in the ancient trees, the companies tried to evict the Pehuenche from their ancestral lands. Once more, the indigenous communities sought the help of citizens' organizations. A second victory was ultimately won in 1992 when the government intervened to purchase the disputed lands, transferring the title deeds to the Quin-Quen and other indigenous communities.

This turn of events allowed the Pehuenche to design and implement community-based development projects in order to improve their living conditions. A bilingual school for children was established with the support of Friends of the Earth Chile, as well as a health clinic and a storehouse for pine-nuts, which provide one of the Pehuenche's main sources of income. Renewed control over the land also allowed the Pehuenche access to the deciduous Lenga tree (Nothofagus pumilio), a species that grows alongside the Araucaria and has enormous commercial potential if responsibly managed.

Bilingual school for Quin-Quen children

They are currently defining a long-term plan to build shelters for community-raised livestock using this timber, thus improving their living standards. It is hoped that the Pehuenche will be able to maintain long-term control over their natural resources, managing them in line with their own interests and generating ecological and financial benefits for the whole community.