The Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) rejected the environmental monitoring plan entered by the mining company Vizcachitas Holding for the protection of Gato Andino in the Putaendo sector, in the Valparaiso region.
As specified from the SAGthe main reason for rejection is because the minimum methodological points for the care of the endangered species are not justified.
After the setback of the mining company, the mayor of fuckingMauricio Quiroz, indicated that he hopes that the Environmental Court annul the environmental resolution because “this is a project that deeply damages the environment and communities.”
Among the methodology presented by Vizcachitas Holding is the implementation of monitoring tools, such as binoculars and a drone, which according to the SAG it is not justified as a specialized methodology.
In addition, the monitoring stations do not have, according to the service, technical facility regarding its location.
Faced with this, the biologist Salvador Donghi, director of Simbiosis Bioconsultora, pointed to the rejection of the little environmental commitment of the mining company with the Putaendo community.
It should be noted that Vizcachitas Holding, due to a precautionary measure, decreed by the Second Environmental Court, Its work has been paralyzed for about a month.
Deficiencies in Monitoring Plan
As reported by the municipality, the SAG detected the following deficiencies in the mining company’s monitoring plan:
-The plan is not representative of the current habitability condition of the Andean cat in the mountains, for which it is necessary to incorporate a much larger area due to the great distances that this feline travels.
-Nor does it include researchers with proven experience, especially at the field level, nor does it detail the methodologies used at the molecular genetics level to identify feces.
-On the other hand, the company incorporates monitoring tools such as binoculars and drones, which are not justified as “specialized methodologies”.
The monitoring stations (MS) lack technical feasibility regarding their location.-The company presents a common plan for two species that are taxonomically different and with different habits, such as the Andean cat (Leopardus jacobita) and the vizcacha (Lagidium viscacia).
-The vibrations associated with the probes are not the only element that causes an impact on the cat, so the noise produced by the traffic of vehicles must be incorporated, since this is a much more influential element in the behavior of the feline.