37
housing construction but also a pressure of the real estate speculation. Most Andean
cities are surrounded by forests; therefore, their growth necessarily advances toward
them. In this regard, real estate interests take steps toward more flexible regulations
for the conversion of forests into urban land. Then, causal relationships are suspected between this real estate pressure and some of the fires that occurred. This
type of pressure is also observed in the periodic reviews of the territory planning of
native forests that must be carried out in accordance with National Law 26,331 on
Environmental Protection of Native Forests. Thus, the forests initially categorized
as having a high or medium conservation value are reason for strong disputes on the
part of those who seek to lower them to the category of “low conservation value,”
making it possible to transform them into urban lands. Finding the balance between
the conservation of these peri-urban forests and the progress of the urbanizations is
a great challenge.
In addition to the abovementioned real estate pressure, the original folks also
claim for their ancestral rights, demanding the restitution of the lands that they
occupied before the colonization. These are communities of the Mapuche-Tehuelche
Nation, militarily subdued at the end of the nineteenth century, after 300 years of
resistance. Although largely they have been integrated into the general society, they
are also organized in community property reserves, which are mostly located in
steppe or ecotone areas, where they practice a family livestock production economy.
However, in some cases, its relationship with the natural forest is closer. Such is the
case of several communities located in the A. araucana forests, which include in
their economy the collection of the seeds (pine nuts). This non-timber forest product
is consumed by the communities, used as fodder for their livestock, and even integrated into a regional commercial circuit (see Chap. 7A).
A remarkable case of the relationship between the forest and the native people is
that of the Curruhuinca community, located within the Lanín National Park, near
San Martín de los Andes. Being the original owners of the land, they were the first
community (in 1888) to get the permission of the Argentine State to occupy and use
part of what had been theirs (Curruhuinca and Roux 1993). Later, with the creation
of the National Park in 1937, this concession came into conflict. Finally, in 1989, the
Argentinean State recognized by National Law 23.750/89, the Community ownership of 10,500 ha within the Lanín National Park. Years later, promoted by an institutional crisis in the National Parks Administration (NPA) and a change of authorities
in the national government, the Mapuche Neuquén Confederation proposed to the
NPA the realization of a workshop called “protected indigenous territory” in order
to discuss legislation, territoriality, and natural resources management. This workshop, held in May 2000, consolidated the co-management plan between the
Curruhuinca community and the National Parks Administration. It is understood as
the distribution of responsibilities and competences, as well as the definition of
public authority and guidelines for the use and management of resources arising
from the ancestral knowledge of the communities (Carpinetti 2007). This comanagement plan constitutes a paradigm shift in the management of the Lanín
National Park and, in short, the practical implementation of the Convention on
Biological Diversity ratified by the Argentine State. In addition, it led to the creation
2 Temperate Subantarctic Forests: A Huge Natural Laboratory
housing construction but also a pressure of the real estate speculation. Most Andean
cities are surrounded by forests; therefore, their growth necessarily advances toward
them. In this regard, real estate interests take steps toward more flexible regulations
for the conversion of forests into urban land. Then, causal relationships are suspected between this real estate pressure and some of the fires that occurred. This
type of pressure is also observed in the periodic reviews of the territory planning of
native forests that must be carried out in accordance with National Law 26,331 on
Environmental Protection of Native Forests. Thus, the forests initially categorized
as having a high or medium conservation value are reason for strong disputes on the
part of those who seek to lower them to the category of “low conservation value,”
making it possible to transform them into urban lands. Finding the balance between
the conservation of these peri-urban forests and the progress of the urbanizations is
a great challenge.
In addition to the abovementioned real estate pressure, the original folks also
claim for their ancestral rights, demanding the restitution of the lands that they
occupied before the colonization. These are communities of the Mapuche-Tehuelche
Nation, militarily subdued at the end of the nineteenth century, after 300 years of
resistance. Although largely they have been integrated into the general society, they
are also organized in community property reserves, which are mostly located in
steppe or ecotone areas, where they practice a family livestock production economy.
However, in some cases, its relationship with the natural forest is closer. Such is the
case of several communities located in the A. araucana forests, which include in
their economy the collection of the seeds (pine nuts). This non-timber forest product
is consumed by the communities, used as fodder for their livestock, and even integrated into a regional commercial circuit (see Chap. 7A).
A remarkable case of the relationship between the forest and the native people is
that of the Curruhuinca community, located within the Lanín National Park, near
San Martín de los Andes. Being the original owners of the land, they were the first
community (in 1888) to get the permission of the Argentine State to occupy and use
part of what had been theirs (Curruhuinca and Roux 1993). Later, with the creation
of the National Park in 1937, this concession came into conflict. Finally, in 1989, the
Argentinean State recognized by National Law 23.750/89, the Community ownership of 10,500 ha within the Lanín National Park. Years later, promoted by an institutional crisis in the National Parks Administration (NPA) and a change of authorities
in the national government, the Mapuche Neuquén Confederation proposed to the
NPA the realization of a workshop called “protected indigenous territory” in order
to discuss legislation, territoriality, and natural resources management. This workshop, held in May 2000, consolidated the co-management plan between the
Curruhuinca community and the National Parks Administration. It is understood as
the distribution of responsibilities and competences, as well as the definition of
public authority and guidelines for the use and management of resources arising
from the ancestral knowledge of the communities (Carpinetti 2007). This comanagement plan constitutes a paradigm shift in the management of the Lanín
National Park and, in short, the practical implementation of the Convention on
Biological Diversity ratified by the Argentine State. In addition, it led to the creation
2 Temperate Subantarctic Forests: A Huge Natural Laboratory