The implementation process for the
ISO 14001 Standard included the establishment of operational
controls necessary for compliance with objectives. Documentation
of operations was also completed, and an emergency response
program was developed. The internal audits needed to
verify the functioning of the system were also performed.
Finally, in April of 1999, the EMS
was successfully certified under the ISO 14001 Standard
for forest operations in the province of Misiones. It
will soon be expanded to the operation in the province
of Corrientes.
As a supplement to the EMS, work is
actively being done inside Grupo Perez Companc on the
implementation and utilization of Environmental Performance
Indicators (EPIs—ISO 14031 Standard) for performing
continuous evaluation and follow-up on the systems that
have been installed. In this effort, the first case
to be actualized (Petroquímica Cuyo) was included in
ISO TR 14032, and a pilot implementation plan for EPIs
is currently under development, which, by next year,
will include the forest area.
CONDITIONS
IN THE ENVIRONMENT
Currently Pecom Forestal is carrying
out most of its activities in the province of Misiones—specifically,
at the San Jorge Facility—which borders the Iguazú National
Park and the Uruguaí Provincial Park.
This facility has a total area of
59,000 hectares, of which 18,000 have been planted with
pines (Pinus elliottii and Pinus taeda).
Since 1998 a project has been underway to plant 15,000
hectares at a rate of 2,500 per year. Within the area
of existing native forest, which is representative of
the Paraná jungle located at the extreme northeastern
tip of the facility, 20,000 hectares were declared a
Multiple Use Forest Reserve. This will be used under
a compensation system for the purpose of maintaining
the biodiversity of the area, as well as for conserving
the watershed and setting up an environmental corridor
with neighboring national and provincial parks and reserves.
Also within the reserve are some 6,800 hectares of native
palmito (Euterpe edulis), as well as 130 species
of vegetation with great pharmaceutical and ornamental
potential.
It is important to emphasize that
the company's activities in this area are centered around
an Environmental Management Plan, which includes a network
of native vegetation connecting all the forest areas,
thus enabling conservation of the habitat of animal
and plant species in the region, as well as the sustainable
use of resources.
MITIGATION
OF CO2
The absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2)
during photosynthesis is one of the mitigation processes
included under the Kyoto Protocol for decreasing the
concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere.
Current and planned plantations will contribute to this
process of decreasing GHG because of the plantations’
CO2 absorption capability. They will also
help improve the environmental equation for this business
once carbon offsets become accepted on a global scale.
Pecom Forestal conducted an analysis
to estimate the amount of CO2 absorbed by
plantations through the process of photosynthesis. The
company’s objective in this analysis focused on the
potential for producing marketable emissions certificates
and rights, which could translate into greater financial
and environmental benefits.
To prepare for eventual certification
in carbon fixation, Pecom Forestal contracted the services
of the Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS),
which performed a pre-evaluation, or scoping visit,
in late 1998. This study included a preliminary evaluation
of carbon offsets.
OUTLOOK
With an eye on international market
conditions—with its increasing demand for forest products
and rising prices—and an objective of continuous growth
in a sustainable forest industry on a competitive international
scale, Pecom Forestal began looking in 1995 at the possibility
of establishing itself in the province of Corrientes.
This region offered comparative advantages such as high
growth rates and a good price-quality ratio on lands
suitable for foresting.
After deciding to make this investment,
in 1997 the company devised a plan to begin reforesting
80,000 hectares in the province of Corrientes, which
after a few years would supply raw material to an integrated
sawn lumber, particleboard, and laminated board industry.
In 1998, some 1,500 hectares were planted, and there
are projections for 4,700 hectares annually up to the
year 2010. The company will be extending the EMS to
this operation in the immediate future.
According to the Pecom Forestal plan,
estimates for the annual development of the forest
area up to 2010 are as follows:
Projection
of Forest Area (Native and Planted Forest)
Years
CONCLUSION
Within the framework of the growth
of economic activities in countries, sustainable logging
is becoming a desirable option for CO2 absorption.
It also enables acceleration of the implementation process
for the carbon offsets introduced in the Kyoto Protocol,
thus creating economic, environmental, and social benefits.
Because of these benefits, Pecom Forestal is considering
potential forest projects throughout Argentina as well
as in neighboring countries.
As Pecom Forestal continues its long-term projects,
its most significant contribution will be the elimination
of 1,000,000 tons of CO2 by the year 2010. It achieves this result by assuming an average annual absorption
rate of approximately 10 tons of CO2 per
hectare, while deducting 1.5 from emissions (boilers,
dryers, and decomposition of organic matter).
CONTACT
Rodolfo
Porrino
Pecom Forestal
Maipú 1, Piso 12
1599 Buenos Aires, Argentina
Tel. (54-11) 4344 6475
Fax (54-11) 4344 6612
E-mail: rporrino@pecom.com.ar
