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The National Forest Corporation or CONAF (Corporación Nacional Forestal) is a Chilean private, non-profit organization, through which the Chilean state contributes to the development and sustainable management of the country's forest resources. CONAF is overseen and funded by the Ministry of Agriculture of Chile.
It administers the forest policies of Chile and promotes the development of the sector with 
This includes:
* Contribute to the development of sustainable forestry resources and their use in goods and services that prioritize their responsible use and mitigation of damage to the environment. Contribute to the country's economic, social and environmental development. Replant, recover and care for endemic forest species and trees in urban areas.
* Protect the forest ecosystems from biotic and abiotic agents and harmful events such as: unlawful exploitation, blights and infestations, wildfires,
Ministry of Agriculture of Chile (ES)
minagri.gob.cl retrieved on November 13, 2014
;Human resources:
CONAF has more than 135 offices throughout Chile and more than 1,900 employees (professionals, technicians and administrative staff). 450 of them are highly qualified Park Rangers trained to help visitors.
;Material resources:
CONAF's resources include Regional Offices, visitor centres and facilities, forest nurseries, wildfire observation towers and bases, and all kind of vehicles to carry out its work in land, water or air.
CONAF Corporate book PDF
{{authority control 1970 establishments in Chile Nature conservation in Chile Chile Chile Forestry in Chile Government agencies established in 1970 Government agencies of Chile National parks of Chile
sustainable forest management
Sustainable forest management (SFM) is the management of forests according to the principles of sustainable development. Sustainable forest management has to keep the balance between three main pillars: ecological, economic and socio-cultural. ...
.
CONAF is also the governing body of all the national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
s of Chile, including those without forests or major vegetation, such as Llullaillaco National Park and others in the Atacama Desert.
History
CONAF was created on May 13, 1970 as the "Reforestation Corporation" or COREF (Corporación de Reforestación'). In 1972 it acquired its current powers, structure and name. In 1976 it adopted Forestín, a coypu, as its mascot. In 1984, under Chilean law Nº 18,348, a move was made to modify the private corporation status of CONAF and make it a government agency. In October 2012 the Chilean senate considered and rejected a proposal to convert CONAF's legal nature from that of a "private corporation" to that of a public (government) agency. The rejected proposal would have created a National Forest Service ''(Servicio Nacional Forestal)''. During the legislative proceedings, testimony was made that addressed the "anomalous" nature of a private corporation performing functions that should be performed by a wholly government agency or agencies. However, as of November 2014, such a status change has not taken place.Mission and goals
CONAF's mission is to contribute to Chile's development through the sustainable use of forest ecosystems, the mitigation of the climate change, the promotion and enforcement of forestry and environmental laws, protect natural resources, and administrate the wildlife areas protected by the government for the generations to come.
This includes:
* Contribute to the development of sustainable forestry resources and their use in goods and services that prioritize their responsible use and mitigation of damage to the environment. Contribute to the country's economic, social and environmental development. Replant, recover and care for endemic forest species and trees in urban areas.
* Protect the forest ecosystems from biotic and abiotic agents and harmful events such as: unlawful exploitation, blights and infestations, wildfires, desertification
Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...
.
* The efficient administration of the National System of Wild Areas Protected by the State (Sistema Nacional de Áreas Silvestres Protegidas del Estado - SNASPE), in order to maximise their environmental, social and economic potential.
Organization
Although CONAF is not technically agovernment agency
A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...
, it has similar functions and attributes. It is a "corporación de derecho privado" which in Chile is means a non-profit juridical person, and is wholly dependent of the Ministry of Agriculture of Chile.minagri.gob.cl retrieved on November 13, 2014
Administration
It is headed by a Directive Council (Consejo Directivo) and administered by an Executive Director (Director Ejecutivo) named by theChilean president
The president of Chile ( es, Presidente de Chile), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( es, Presidente de la República de Chile), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is re ...
in office. There are also Regional Directors, overseen by the Executive Director.
;CONAF has three "Gerencias de áreas técnicas" or technical areas of management:
* Forest Management:
In charge of preserving the native forest and administrating the sustainable exploitation of the forest ecosystem.
* Wildfires Management:
Responsible for coordinating the wildfires prevention programs and organizing the logistics of fighting wildfires.
* Wild Protected Area Management:
In charge of administrating the National Parks, National Reserves
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
, and Natural Monuments. Responsible for preserving their biodiversity and public access.
CONAF also has a legal department ("Fiscalia"), a financial administration department ("Gerencia de Finanzas y Administración"), and a human resources and development department ("Gerencia de Desarrollo de las Personas").
;Human resources:
CONAF has more than 135 offices throughout Chile and more than 1,900 employees (professionals, technicians and administrative staff). 450 of them are highly qualified Park Rangers trained to help visitors.
;Material resources:
CONAF's resources include Regional Offices, visitor centres and facilities, forest nurseries, wildfire observation towers and bases, and all kind of vehicles to carry out its work in land, water or air.
See also
* List of national parks of ChileReferences
External links
*CONAF Corporate book PDF
{{authority control 1970 establishments in Chile Nature conservation in Chile Chile Chile Forestry in Chile Government agencies established in 1970 Government agencies of Chile National parks of Chile