Chile's forests are some of the most impressive of the world. They contain Chilean palm forests, the northern-most palms in the world in north-central Chile, to prehistoric araucaria forests and temperate rainforests in the South. These forests are of great ecological and conservation value. They store vast quantities of carbon that contribute to global climate regulation, control flooding, purify water, cycle nutrients and soil, and are home to numerous plant and animal species, many of which can only be found there. To maintain their natural levels of biodiversity, large tracts of 'frontier forests' must be conserved. In its latest study, Chile's Frontier Forests: Conserving a Global Treasure, GFW Chile found that of the roughly 30% of forests classified as frontier forests, only a small area (27%) is protected. Most of these frontier forests are in areas with steep slopes or located at high attitude. Chile's frontier forests today face several urgent threats, such as illegal logging, conversion to plan tations of exotic species, and unsustainable management practices.

The report, Chile's Frontier Forests: Conserving a Global Treasure, is a product of the GFW Chile team. GFW Chile developed a methodology for delineating frontier forests in Chile based on the most up-to-date available data from Chile's forest management agency. GFW Chile will continue to monitor changes in forest cover and development activities occurring in and around frontier forests, in order to detect their impacts on forest ecosystems and biodiversity

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Chile's Frontier Forests ISBN 1-56973-495-x$20.00