La industria de la celulosa y sus efectos: certezas e incertidumbres

Autores/as

  • Alice Altesor Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.
  • Gabriela Eguren Unidad de Ciencias de la Epigénesis, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.
  • Nestor Mazzeo Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.
  • Daniel Panario Unidad de Ciencias de la Epigénesis, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.
  • Claudia Rodríguez Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.

Palabras clave:

conflicto ambiental, consumo de papel, disruptor endócrino, ecotoxicología, efluentes industriales, eutrofización, proceso kraft, servicios ecosistémicos

Resumen

El patrón de crecimiento de la industria de la pulpa y del papel, así como del modelo forestal asociado, revela una tendencia creciente a expandirse en países de Asia, África y América del Sur. En este escenario es necesario incorporar la perspectiva ambiental en la conciencia social para que las decisiones de uso y manejo de los recursos naturales no sean tomadas siguiendo sólo la lógica del mercado, por lo cual el concepto de servicios ecosistémicos es una ayuda valiosa para el análisis de los conflictos ambientales. Este artículo analiza las evidencias de los impactos puntuales que producen los efluentes industriales derivados del funcionamiento de las plantas de celulosa. Estos efluentes presentan una considerable complejidad por la cantidad de compuestos químicos que contienen, algunos no identificados al día de hoy. Sus efectos dependen del sitio en el que ocurren, de las características físico-químicas del cuerpo receptor, de su caudal, del tipo de madera, del proceso industrial y del tratamiento de efluentes empleado y de la sensibilidad de las especies presentes en el ecosistema. Sin embargo, existen numerosos estudios ecotoxicológicos y sobre la eutrofización de cuerpos de agua que demuestran que algunos de los potenciales efectos ocurren en regiones diferentes y distantes e independientemente del tipo específico de proceso industrial empleado. Los efectos derivados de la exposición a disruptores endócrinos cuentan con abundantes evidencias de laboratorio y de campo que han permitido establecer sus mecanismos de acción. Además, si bien la incorporación de nuevas fases (e.g., la fase secundaria) a los sistemas de tratamiento de efluentes industriales mitiga los efectos agudos, no mitiga las respuestas crónicas registradas. En función de los efectos conocidos se consideran las posibles consecuencias sobre las funciones ecosistémicas, y cuáles son los principales desafíos de América Latina para planificar esta actividad productiva. Los grados elevados de incertidumbre asociados, el carácter complejo de las respuestas de los sistemas frente a las perturbaciones o al estrés, y los vacíos de información limitan nuestra capacidad para enfrentar los problemas ambientales. El análisis y el aporte académico libre de conflictos de intereses deben contribuir a la toma de decisiones y a que la sociedad construya una opinión fundamentada.

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Publicado

2008-12-01

Cómo citar

Altesor, A., Eguren, G., Mazzeo, N., Panario, D., & Rodríguez, C. (2008). La industria de la celulosa y sus efectos: certezas e incertidumbres. Ecología Austral, 18(3), 291–303. Recuperado a partir de https://ojs.ecologiaaustral.com.ar/index.php/Ecologia_Austral/article/view/1376

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