[] TL: PULP MILLS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT IN THE CANTABRIC AND THE GALICIAN COASTS (GP) SO: Greenpeace Spain DT: 2-AUG-91 16:23:28 GMT Keywords: toxics forests pulp spain europe greenpeace gp reports / [part 1 of 6] 3.- THE PULP MILLS OF THE SPANISH NORTHERN COAST Pollution produced by the paper pulp industry is a common problem throughout the north. The prospect of a supply of raw material has lead the pulp industry to lay their interests in the north, and they still do. Five of the factories in Spain that bleach with chlorine are on the northern coast (see table 2). According to our estimates, dumping from their factories puts 16,000 tons of organochlorines and approximately 50,000 tons of organic matter into the Cantabric Sea, provoking serious pollution problems. All of the Autonomous Communities (Regions) of the area are affected by this pollution. In Asturias, specifically in Navia, CEASA (Celulosas de Asturias, SA) is located. With the second highest production is Spain, 92% of its capital belongs to the English group Wiggens Teape.Of all the large paper pulp mills in the north, it has been one of the least contested. Despite malaise in the community due to pollution problems, for the time being, protests have not reached the dimensions of those in other areas. The relative calm can be attributed to the fact that CEASA sends its waste out to sea through an underwater discharge pipe.Although the underwater pipes are presented to the public as a way of stopping pollution, nothing could be farther from the truth. The fact is that the function best achieved by these pipes is that of making pollution less apparent.Organochlorine compounds are as toxic when dumped into a river as they are when dumped into the sea. Their final destination is same, accumulating in living beings and at the sea bottom. Moreover, a paper pulp manufacturer like CEASA that does not have adequate treatment for its waste dumps enormous quantities of organic material (some 16,000 tons/year) burying the sea floors and turning them into veritable deserts.The pollution is there, and as much as anyone tries to hide it, its effects are finally seen in the end. Local newspapers have recently reflected civic groups' concern about widespread pollution that is killing off life in the ria.CEASA is not only responsible for the pollution in the Navia ria, it is also responsible for setting a dangerous precedent that could jeopardize the survival of other rivers and coasts. Encouraged by the "solution" at the Navia factory, which has avoided, so far, so many problems with fishermen and inhabitants of the area, other paper pulp mills in the North, highly contested by civic groups, have decided to build underwater discharge pipes as a "supposed solution" to the pollution problems created by their plants. One of these factories, SNIACE, is located in neighbouring Cantabria. Industrial pollution in the Besaya river is possibly the most serious environmental problem that Cantabria has. Companies like SOLVAY or ASTURIANA DEL ZINC are responsible for high levels of heavy metals pollution in the river and along the coasts. SNIACE, whose major shareholder is BANESTO, is responsible for 95% of the pollution in the Besaya river. SNIACE produces bleached paper pulp using a Calcium Bisulphate treatment process. It uses chlorine or hypochlorite to bleach the paper pulp. According to company figures, 1,050 tons of organochlorines are present in the material it dumps each year. This figure is surprisingly low when compared with other factories with the same technology. At any rate, the figure should be confirmed through analysis by government environment officials.The Besaya river flows into the San Martin ria beside the touristic enclave of Suances. For years, children bathing at that beach in the toxic foam from the pulp mill was a typical sight. Due to this pollution, the number of fishermen in the community has dropped over the last few years from 300 to 60. El Movimiento Ciudadano (Citizen's Movement) is a local association which has channelled the protests against SNIACE's pollution. Having filed official complaints with the EEC, Defensor del pueblo (Ombudsman), held demonstrations and sent letters to authorities trying to call the government's attention to the situation in the ria. On several occasions, SNIACE has said it would reduce its pollution, but its good will has yet to be proved. In 1987 and 1988 this company did not even pay its dumping tax and was finally sentenced to do so by the Central Economic Tribunal. At the end of 1988, SNIACE announced its implementation of several investments to reduce the impact of its waste. One of the "strong points" presented in its Improvement Plan was the building of an underwater discharge pipe. Moving pollution from one spot to another is no solution for the Cantabric Sea. Various civic groups, in concordance with this principle, have presented, in November 1990, allegations against SNIACE's technical plan for the discharge pipe, in which the company did not even bother to include an environmental impact study.The other pulp mill that is trying to solve its pollution problems by using a discharge pipe is ENCE (Empresa Nacional de Celulosas, SA) in Pontevedra. This factory, belonging to the INI public group, has been problematic ever since its installation. ENCE, along with its chlorine producing subsidiary ELNOSA, do 90% of the dumping in the Pontevedra ria. The mercury contamination in molluscs from the ria is proof that the problem has yet to be solved. The paper pulp plant is located along what was one of Galicia's most productive rias. Feraful that the dumping would destroy this wealth, fishermen and shelfish gatherers of the ria were opposed to the building of the plant from the very outset. Confrontations arrests and even the martialling of the seamen. in several arrests and even the court martialling of the seamen. Protests have increased over the years. Ecological groups, nationalist parties and civic groups like the Asociacion pola Defensa da Ria de Pontevedra (Association for the Defense of the Pontevedra Estuary) have joined in their protest against the pollution. And the passage of time has confirmed negative forecasts made 30 years ago. The Asociacion para a Defensa Ecoloxica de Galiza (ADEGA) Association for the Ecological Defense of Galicia), in its special report, of summer 1988, entitled "Celulosa", gives the fullest description of how pollution has affected the ria's richness in shellfish: [Greenbase Inventory October 27, 1991 ] =======[#]======= [] TL: PULP MILLS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT IN THE CANTABRIC AND THE GALICIAN COASTS (GP) SO: Greenpeace Spain DT: 2-AUG-91 16:23:28 GMT Keywords: toxics forests pulp spain europe greenpeace gp reports / [part 2 of 6] "After ENCE's operating for 25 years, the production of fish and shellfish in the Pontevedra ria has diminished by 60% due to pollution. Not only the quantity diminished, but also the quality of 40% of what is now produced in the ria, to the point of becoming hazardous for consumption. The nearby Arosa ria, although slightly larger than the Pontevedra ria, maintains some 20,000 shellfish gatherers as opposed to 1,200 maintained by the Pontevedra ria. On the order of 10,000 jobs depend on punts in the Arosa, as opposed to 2,300 in the Pontevedra. To speak of the millions of pesetas in yearly production, 8 million in Arosa and 1,500 in Pontevedra. The closing of tinning factories (Martin, Poio) must also be added to these loses, along with the virtual disappearance of inshore fishing.These differences are increasing with the promotion of shellfish in the less contaminated rias. Even when declaring that well over 5,000 jobs have thus far been lost, we fall short. The ENCE/ELNOSA disch arge pipe is already built and the company a de Pesca de la Xunta de Galicia (Fishing authority of the Regional Government) has expressed reservations in its December 1990 report:"If this dumping is done through an underwater discharge pipes so near the punts, with the same levels of pollution, the harmful effects on the entire central area of the ria will be even greater".We mustn't forget that an underwater discharge pipe does not solve toxic pollution problems. Now that the molluscs in the Placeres area exceed the levels of mer by Spanish law, the source of pollution is being transferred to the area near the punts. We simply wonder whether it will take another 30 years for the administration to solve this problem once and for all. The Basque Country currently has no underwater discharge pipes from pulp mills, in any case the pulp pollution problems are more serious here than in any other area of Spain. The reason is clear. The Basque Country has the highest concentration of paper pulp plants in the country. The paper pulp production problem in the Basque Country deserves special, detailed attention that goes far beyond the scope of this report. In any event, we are certain that with its levels of production, and pollution, Papelera Espa/ola would be at the top of the list. This company's Renteria factory produces paper pulp mechanically. Although it does not use chlorine for bleaching, the factory causes grave pollution problems in the Psajes bay and port. In fact, the Renteria factory has been dennounced by the Pasajes por authority for ecological and economic damage inflicted by dumping. Wood fibre contained in the 3.2 million cubic meters dumped annually by the factory buries the bottom of the Pasajes port, forcing the port authority to carry out constant dredging. The president of the of the port authority pointed out how "Papelera's dumping is a clear aggression against the marine life in the bay". The situation is not better in Arangueren where Papelera Espa/ola has a factory that produces pulp bleached with chlorine, using the Kraft process. Papelera and Scott Iberica dump directly into the Cadagua river, whose basin was for years fishermens' favourite area in the province of Biscay because of the great number of trout abd mullet in its waters. The current state of the river is manifest in a report done by the Basque Government health service: "We must indicate, based on the inspection done, that the dumpingm point in both factories was even visually worrying. At Scott, the company itself forms a completely white, high density stream. At Papelera there is a warm, dark brown effluent with abundant foam lasting for kilometres".These two industries dump 130 tons of waste daily into the Cadagua River which has become their sewer. The river bed is covered with solid waste and concentrations of organic material that surpass those tolerated by current law.Papelera has done little to try to palliate the problems it causes. It recently installed primary treatment for the solid waste in the material it dumps. The effectiveness of this treatment, which in the best of cases would be insufficient, is diminished due to the fact that it is practically never in operation. e/es town hall has filed a complaint against Papelera Espa/ola and Scott Iberica for not taking the proper remedial measures to eliminate the pollution in the environment.Given the situation created by Papelera Espa/ola in Pasajes and the Cadagua, one must once again question the plan to install a factory with similar technology to the one in Rentera!aa in Aoiz (Navarre). In any case, the 20.000 million pesetas that Papelera claims it will invest in this plan should be spent on solving already existing pollution problems instead of on creating new ones. [] TL: PULP MILLS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT IN THE CANTABRIC AND THE GALICIAN COASTS (GP) SO: Greenpeace Spain DT: 2-AUG-91 16:23:28 GMT Keywords: toxics forests pulp spain europe greenpeace gp reports / [part 3 of 6] There are three other plans to build new paper pulp mills in the North. Two are mechanic pulp plants (in Navarre and Galicia), and one is a Kraft pulp plant with chlorine compounds bleaching (in Galicia). The widespread pollution in the North due to the paper pulp mills requires a solution before authorizing the building of a new one.A review of the problems created by some of the large paper pulp mills allows us to extrapolate and determine the environmental state of the paper pulp sector in the area and, generally speaking, in all of Spain. *The technology used is obsolete due to its high production of waste.*Everywhere there is a paper pulp mill there are serious pollution problems that have lead to the destruction of rivers, rias and coasts. *The paper industry can pollute with virtual impunity due to a lack of specific legislation regulating dumping. * The sparse water pollution regulatiuons are once and again violated by the paper industry due to administration laxness.* Dumping control that should be done by the administration is actually done by civic groups, generally using all the legal means at their disposal. Table 2: Factories on the northern coast using chlorine compunds for bleaching ----------------------------------------------------------------- Company Production AOX Yearly dumping (tons/year) (kg/ton) organochlorines (tons) --------------- ------------------------------------------------- CEASA 180.000 euc. 1.3 2,340 (Asturias) ENCE 149.000 euc. 3 4,470 (Pontevedra) 38.000 pine 6 2,280 %OLA 70.000 pine 6 4,200 (Biscay) %AGA 50.000 euc. 3,5 1,750 (Guipuzcoa) SNIACE 70.000 euc. 1.5 1,050 (Cantabria) ---------------------------------------------------------------- The estimate of annual dumping of organochloride compounds is done by multiplying the paper pulp production by the AOX and by a factor of 10 (see Appendix 1). For ENCE, AOX figures were published by the company itself. The rest of the companies have been sent a ltter with AOX estimates asking for their opinion on the precision of the figures. When there was no reply, we informed them that we took this as a confirmation of the estimates we sent. So far, only CEASA and SNIACE have responded. In both cases they cite extremely low AOX figures (the average AOX figure for eucalyptus is 3). In CEASA's case, this may be due, in part, to an unknown portion of production that is unbleached pulp. The SNIACE figures are abnormally low and we feel, in this case as in the others, they should be contrasted with analyses done by the appropiate authority of the administration. [] TL: PULP MILLS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT IN THE CANTABRIC AND THE GALICIAN COASTS (GP) SO: Greenpeace Spain DT: 2-AUG-91 16:23:28 GMT Keywords: toxics forests pulp spain europe greenpeace gp reports / [part 4 of 6] ORGANOCHLORINES POLLUTION IN THE PONTEVEDRA RIA AND THE BESAYA RIVER The analysis carried out by the Queen Mary and Westfield College (University of London) in November 1990, show clearly the organochlorine pollution of the Pontevedra estuary and the river Saja/Besaya due to the effluents of two pulp mills (ENCE and SNIACE). The organochlorine levels in crustacean were not analysed due to the lack of an internationally defined analytic protocol. Chlorine Extractable), in the sediments of the river Saja/Besaya, are between 3 and 30 times higher than the levels found in non- polluted areas (Table 1). According to the University of London report, "there is no doubt that the SIANCE effluent emissary contributes to organochlorines pollution of the river Saja/Besaya". For the Pontevedra estuary the levels of organochlorines are between 2 and 38 times higher. Taking into account that the sediments seem to have an important role in organochlorines bioaccumulation in marine fauna, it is highlighted in the report that: "It's clear that there are levels of organochlorines in the sediments of the Pontevedra estuary and that they come into the estuary through ENCE effluents. For humans, there are various ways of exposing to organochlorines, one of them being the ingestion of polluted crustaceans. Since it's widely accepted that organochlorinated represent a risk for human health, the Pontevedra paper mill must be considered as a potential risk for the local community health, as well as for the environment." TABLE 1: ORGANOCHLORINES IN SEDIMENTS Place Concentration mg/kg dry weight Saja/Besaya 11-105 Pontevedra Estuary 8-133 Non polluted areas 1-6 On the other hand, the Queen Mary College has analysed mercury concentrations in mussels and other molluscs in these areas (Table 2). The problem of mercury pollution has its origin in chlorine plants which are normally associated to paper mills. Mercury pollution is obvious in both cases. It's enough to point out that the maximun level of mercury (in mg/kg dry weight) found in 1341 samples taken in 153 different locations in the French coast was of 0'83. Two of the samples exceed this level. In the Pontevedra estuary the levels of mercury found agree with the conclusions of other scientists. The Placeres area is highly polluted; mercury concentration greatly exceeds the levels established by the EEC Directive (o'3 mg/kg fresh weight). The University of London report points out that the level of mercury found in mussels in the Usgo beach are "worrying". These mussels were picked up nearby the Solvay emissary and this industry is probably the origin of mercury pollution. [] TL: PULP MILLS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT IN THE CANTABRIC AND THE GALICIAN COASTS (GP) SO: Greenpeace Spain DT: 2-AUG-91 16:23:28 GMT Keywords: toxics forests pulp spain europe greenpeace gp reports / [part 5 of 6] TABLE 2: MERCURY CONTENT IN MOLLUSCS Location Species Mercury content dry weight fresh weight mg/kg mg/kg TORRELAVEGA Usgo beach Mussel 0'48 0'09 Usgo beach Mussel 1'46 0'23 PONTEVEDRA Placeres Mussel 5'53 0'65 Combarro Clam 0'82 0'15 Batea Mussel 0'52 0'09 Opposite ENCE Cockle 1'25 0'16 CHAPTER IV THE FORESTS THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE FORESTSIn the north, thick forests of oak, chestnut and beech trees have given way to a monotonous green covering of pine and eucalyptus trees. Forest fires and erosion are widespread today along our Costa Verde which has become increasingly dry. Once a wet coast, it has been subjected to more forest fires than ever. What's responsible for this? The monocultures of pine and eucalyptus trees. And the root of the problem? The paper manufacturing industry.The link between fast growing species and the paper manufacturing industry has been evident since the beginning of the century when the first reforestation with these species was carried out in order to provide raw material for the paper industry. Entrepreneurs in the sector saw the possibility of quickly obtaining cheap wood. Their ideas were backed by many forest engineers, and in the long term, by the Forest Authority which looked upon the forests as a commodity, ignoring their social, conservationist and even economic value. Nevertheless, the massive expansion of eucalyptus and pine trees did not come until just after the Civil War, becoming the keystone of the Forest Policy designed to promote the paper manufacturing industry.All types of services were tailored to the needs of the industry, from research done on fast growing species right down to studies on plantations on grazing land taken from farmers. Large paper manufacturers in the area also received sizable subsidies from the Administration. SNIACE, for example, was granted special access facilities to land used for reforestation (this industry is responsible for the bulk of the eucalyptus reforestation in Cantabria). Another major company in the industry, ENCE, was declared "an preferred forest industry" in 1963. Moreover, town governments at the time, which were not democratically elected, succumbed to the temptation of obtaining some cash by granting some of the lands in their jurisdiction. This way they could both clear up the town budget and rid themselves of the problem of managing these municipal areas.As a result of this forest policy, we have seen a brutal change in the wildlife of the hills of the north in less than a century. The autochthonous forests have receded to the large mountains farther inland and certain river basins. Meanwhile, the rest of situation is bad but the future is no more promising. Over the 80s, two major factors have dashed the hopes of reversing this situation. First, the Autonomous Communities which received the jurisdiction of these lands, far from changing old policies, often took the easy way out and carried them on with renewed zeal. Spain's entry into the Common Market has been a much more significant factor. If we do not act now, Spain's membership will soon definitively turn the North into a vast extension of monocultures of fast growing species for paper pulp production. Galicia and the Cantabrian Coast are facing the tremendous pressure of a renovated paper manufacturing industry with significant presence of multinational companies. There are already four plans for new factories (two in La Coru/a and another two in Navarre) that wish to build facilities due to the "facility in the supply of raw materials", in other words, due to the possibility of creating new plantations in Galicia and the Basque Country.The multinational paper pulp industry sees in Spain and Portugal the possibility of introducing itself into the European market which has a shortage of paper pulp. At the same time, this industry, through a reduction in surpluses, most of which Spain did not contribute to, is being benefited by an EEC agricultural policy that the North has not had time to react to. The agriculture of the European Community is generally more developed and competitive that in Spain, whose conditions for membership were particularly unfavourable to regions like Galicia and the Cantabric Coast where farming is similar to that of Atlantic Europe. Milk quotas imposed to these regions serve as an illustra(unlike their European Atlantic Counterparts with a higher level of development), they were unable to build a groundwork for future agricultural development. Thus, in practice, the spreading of plantations is encouraged by the Community's subsidy policies. With up to 80% aid for reforestation, with the excuse of putting this agricultural land to alternative use, the expansion of fast growing monocultures is logically foreseeable.Interestingly, EEC aid to fight forest fires is also contributing to this expansion. Subsidies of 30 to 60% for fire breaks, clean-ups and hydrants in fact favour the continuation of reforesting with species which are actually the main cause of EEC policy has responded more to the needs of Central Europe (reducing shortages and diminishing the environmental pressure of heavy agriculture in northern Europe) and the needs of the paper manufacturing industry than to the need for rational forest management. Once aware of underlying interests, it is even harder to hear that the pine and eucalyptus plantations will be beneficial. In fact, they tell us we should be happy because the plantations will prevent the spreading of thickets, given the disappearance of most of the autochthonous forests. Nonetheless, we can't help wondering why the forest authority doesn't begin the task of reconstituting our forests, our true forests. Massive mechanized plantations, be they eucalyptus, pine species, characteristics in common. Substituting forests or a mosaic of landscapes for monocultures of trees of the same age generates a loss in the diversity of species and landscape value. The use of heavy machinery, especially on soils located on slopes, heightens erosion and deterioration in soil quality. Fire breaks and access lanes on steep land also lead to erosion and landslides. A natural forest contains trees of all ages. Therefore, the high level of consumption of water and nutrients of the younger trees is compensated by the moderate consumption of the older ones. Conversely, plantations of trees of the same age and species have a much higher water consumption. Plantations also cause grave problems by disturbing the balance of the water cycle. Chopping down trees at ground level and the blater period for regeneration or new planting deeply modify the bbalance of water, depending on the stage of the chopping cycle. The more frequent the chopping, the more serious the problem.The effects on the soil are related to the planting, clearing and harvesting techniques used, as well as density, frequency of chopping, and species used. Just like any other crop, the plantations put pressure on the soil due to the high level of nutrients extracted. This is aggravated in the case of certain hexotic species because the decomposing micro)organisms are not adapted to them, thus taking far longer to decompose the fallen leaves) one of the causes of forest fires. Finally, we must consider the effects of pests attacking the monocultures, endangering thousands of hectares. The use of pesticides to control these pests, often with crop dusters given the characteristics of the monoculture, is an added environmental risk.These are some of the ecological problems that the monocultures of this nature share with most other crops found in our latitudes. One basic difference between forest plantations and agricultural crops is their duration. (The trees remain for ten years while most crops only remain for one.) From this point of view, forest crops, overall, are less harmful than various agricultural crops due to a lower intensity of activity and use of agrochemicals, and the longer structural endurance of the biomass. Thus, substituting a corn, beet or cotton crop with pine trees or poplar trees could seem advantageous from a strictly environmental point of view. However, forest plantations are generally spreading to the detriment of permanent grazing land or other habitats practically this land with intensive crops, bearing of the disadvantages we are already aware of. Seen from this point of view, forest plantations are substituting this land with intensive crops, bearing all of the disadvantages we are already aware of.THE LOSS OF WILDLIFE Pine and eucalyptus trees have come to substitute for the thick, complex original forests. This reforestation is a hard blow for the rich diverse wildlife of the area, causing a decrease in quality and disappearance of original characteristics. Animal populations are tending to disappear since the plantations, in taking over autochthonous plants, do not afford refuge, areas in which to nest and adequate sources of food for survival.The difference between the potential and current biological diversity of an area is one of the best indicators of environmental quality and degree of conservation. This applies to animals as well as plants.An extremely controversial case, that of eucalyptus groves in Galicia, shows the dramatic impoverishment of diversity that these plantations cause. It is staggering to discover that in the regeneration phase after cutting, the eucalyptus grove is home to only four different bird species with a ridiculously low density of 7 birds per hectare, a veritable ornithological desert! The comparison of the richness and diversity in species of the Galician countryside (24 species with 59 per hectare) and areas of oaks and chestnuts (17 species with 93 per hectare) is illuminating. Over half of the northeast of Galicia suffers from chronic environmental stress, considering the Bird Index as a biological indicator of the upsetting of the habitat.Despite the fact that the pine groves of the Cantabrian mountain chain may have fairly high densities of roebucks and wild boars, we should remember that they are mainly used as a resting place by these animals who eat in the grazing lands or thick forests nearby. [] TL: PULP MILLS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT IN THE CANTABRIC AND THE GALICIAN COASTS (GP) SO: Greenpeace Spain DT: 2-AUG-91 16:23:28 GMT Keywords: toxics forests pulp spain europe greenpeace gp reports / [part 6 of 6] FOREST FIRES Galicia, Cantabria, Asturias and the Basque Country are, in this order, the Regions with the highest risk of forest fires in the Spanish State. Galicia is currently the region of Europe with the highest percentage of its area affected by forest fires each year. Approximately 25% of the wooded area of Galicia is burnt every ten years, although in a particularly detrimental year like 1989, fire can destroy nearly 10% of the wooded area. There have one more demostration of the absurdity of the policy of forest monocultures tailor made for the paper manufacturing industry. Naturally, there are many social problems that aggravate the forest fire problem. A fire can occur by chance, by accident in its traditional uses, or can be provoked by local feuds. It can also be the result of wood interest of those who can obtain raw material even cheaper (15% to 25 %) this way, or the industry's interest in planting eucalyptus trees in areas previously used for other purposes. There are even cases of traffickers who set fire to the hills to distract attention and clear the land. Underlying all of these causes, however, is the lack of a coherent policy adapted to the land and the massive planting of species with a great tendency to burn.The flammability index (the ease in which these species burn) of the three most extensively used species in the plantations of the North, the "Insigne" Pine, the Eucalyptus and the "Pinaster" pine have higher flammability indexes that most other species, and are particularly higher than those of the deciduous forest of the Cantabrian Coast. The lack of adaptation of these foreign species (Eucalyptus and "Insigne" pine) to our climate and their high resin content are what cause them to burn. In addition, the high temperatures reached in these eucalyptus and pine plantations propagate fire to neighbouring forests of oaks and chestnuts, which are difficult to burn.Interestingly, although these species suffer from a greater number of forest fires, they benefit, at the same time, fromfires' effects. They are pirophyte plants and fire does not affect them as a species because, although adult trees are destroyed, the seeds, protected with a wood)like substance, later has a higher germination capacity. Moreover, the fire eliminates competing vegetation. One can affirm, then, that fire is the eucalyptus' best ally. After a seemingly devastating fire in an area with a concentration of several species of trees, if the eucalyptus is present, it later dominates the entire area with a high density. The resprouting of the eucalyptus caused by chaotic over germination is more like the spreading of weeds than a forest crop. Although pine trees do not have such a high capacity to resprout, they are highly pirophytic. In the Spanish state, between 1964 and 1983, the area of forest burned and money invested in forest fighting greatly exceeded the reforested area and money invested in plantations. It is evident that the current fire prevention policy for massive pine and eucalyptus plantations it not meeting its objective. If these plantations spread further, we can only expect more massive and uncontrollable fires.The only way to prevent forest fires is through a Forest Policy adapted to our latitude that protects the biological diversity of our forests. GREENPEACE DEMANDS: * Chlorine free bleaching by 1993 * Secundary tretament for the pulp mills effluents * A sustainable Forest Policy and the restoration of native forests. =end=[Greenbase Inventory October 27, 1991 ] =======[#]=======