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| University of Chile Faculty of Forestry | |
|---|---|
| Name | Faculty of Forestry, University of Chile |
| Native name | Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y de la Conservación de la Naturaleza |
| Established | 1947 |
| Type | Public |
| City | Santiago |
| Country | Chile |
University of Chile Faculty of Forestry The Faculty of Forestry at the University of Chile is a public academic unit specializing in silviculture, conservation, and forest engineering, rooted in postwar Chilean scientific development and linked to national Ministry of Agriculture (Chile), Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Universidad de Concepción, Universidad Austral de Chile, and international institutions such as University of California, Berkeley, Universität Freiburg, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zurich, and University of British Columbia. Its programs intersect with agencies including CONAF, INFOR (Chile), CORFO, Fondo de Investigación y Desarrollo, and engage with organizations like IUCN, FAO, CITES, WWF, and Conservation International.
The faculty traces origins to post-World War II forestry initiatives influenced by figures associated with Carlos Ibáñez del Campo era policies, collaborations with United Nations missions, and technical exchanges with United States Department of Agriculture and Rockefeller Foundation. Early partnerships involved Chilean institutions such as Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero and Universidad Técnica del Estado and international schools like Oregon State University, University of Minnesota, and Imperial College London. Over decades the faculty contributed to national programs under presidents including Gabriel González Videla and Salvador Allende, responded to environmental crises like the Great Chilean Earthquake impacts on forests, and adapted curricula following directives from bodies such as Consejo de Rectores de las Universidades Chilenas and legal frameworks like laws promoted by Ministerio de Obras Públicas (Chile).
The faculty is situated within the University of Chile main campus network in Santiago, proximate to landmarks such as Plaza de la Ciudadanía, La Moneda Palace, Parque Forestal, and research sites in regions like Araucanía Region, Los Ríos Region, and Magallanes. Facilities include teaching laboratories modeled after standards at CIFOR and equipped with dendrology collections influenced by exchanges with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, GIS suites comparable to Esri implementations used by NASA and dendrochronology labs paralleling methods from Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. Field stations are maintained in collaboration with regional actors such as CONAF and local governments including Gobierno Regional de La Araucanía.
Degree offerings mirror global forestry pedagogy seen at University of British Columbia Faculty of Forestry, providing undergraduate programs in forest engineering, graduate programs (MSc, PhD) in silviculture, forest ecology, and wood science, and professional diplomas aligned with accreditation practices from ABET-type systems and standards referenced by OECD reports. Courses integrate modules drawing on methodologies from IPCC assessments, case studies involving Arauco (company), Masisa, and management frameworks promoted by Forest Stewardship Council. The curriculum emphasizes field training with internships at institutions like CONAF, private firms such as CMPC (company), and research exchanges with universities including University of Helsinki and University of São Paulo.
Research themes include native forest restoration influenced by work at Rancho La Balsa and studies in Andean ecosystems comparable to research at Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, with centers focusing on biodiversity, carbon sequestration referenced in Kyoto Protocol science, and wood product innovation akin to projects at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The faculty hosts research groups collaborating with CNRS, Max Planck Society, CSIC (Spain), and regional institutes like INIA (Chile), addressing issues from fire ecology reminiscent of research after the 2017 Chilean wildfires to invasive species studies similar to programs at CSIRO. Laboratories undertake projects in remote sensing using platforms like Landsat, Sentinel-2, and airborne LiDAR studies in partnership with agencies such as European Space Agency.
Student associations mirror structures at universities like Universidad de Chile Student Federation and include a Forestry Student Council, academic chapters affiliated with international bodies such as Society of American Foresters, IUFRO student networks, and environmental NGOs like Greenpeace and WWF Chile. Extracurricular activities involve field expeditions to sites like Villarrica National Park, participation in competitions similar to Timber Sports, and collaborative projects with indigenous communities including Mapuche organizations and regional councils such as Consejo de Todas las Tierras.
Faculty and alumni have included leaders who held positions in government agencies such as CONAF and Ministerio de Agricultura (Chile), academics who collaborated with scholars from Harvard University, Stanford University, and Oxford University, and professionals who worked for corporations including Arauco (company), CMPC (company), and international NGOs like IUCN and WWF. Prominent individuals have engaged in national policy debates alongside figures like Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet and contributed to conservation science cited in international assessments by IPBES.
The faculty maintains formal agreements with universities including University of California, Berkeley, ETH Zurich, Universidade de São Paulo, and organizations such as FAO, IUCN, CIFOR, and private sector partners like Arauco (company) and CMPC (company), facilitating joint research, student exchange, and technology transfer. Outreach programs collaborate with local governments, indigenous groups including Mapuche communities, and regional development agencies such as CORFO and SERNAPESCA to implement restoration, sustainable forestry, and community forestry projects reflecting national commitments under international accords like the Paris Agreement.