Sustainable Protected Area Management: The Case of Llancahue, a Highly Valued Periurban Forest in Chile

Abstract

The Llancahue watershed is a 1,300-ha state-owned, protected forest threatened by illegal logging. To improve conservation practices, we provide a prescription for protecting the 400 ha of old-growth stands and to promote old-growth attributes through responsible management of the secondary forests. The plan involves the local community in efforts to reduce illegal logging and generates annual net revenues of 20,000–US$30,000 which will be used to conserve the forest and employ the local community by thinning 10–15 ha yr−1. We present the Llancahue watershed as a case study for implementing sustainable forest management with local communities as a means of conserving forestland.