Kast withdrew 43 environmental decrees, but had to reinstate one that protects a typical animal

The package of environmental decrees included the creation of national parks, the reduction of pollutants and the protection of salt flats, endemic species at risk and other natural resources.

However, this Thursday the Ministry of the Environment reported in a statement that “after an exhaustive review of this instrument, we resubmitted to the Comptroller’s Office the decree of the Recovery, Conservation and Management Plan (RECOGE) for Darwin’s frogs, an instrument that has already been approved by this organization.”

Darwin’s frog owes its name to its discoverer, the English explorer Charles Darwin, who found it for the first time in 1834.

It’s a small amphibian in danger of extinction and it is one of the symbols of Chile’s native diversity, along with the Huemul mammal and the Humboldt penguin. It measures three centimeters and lives in the southern temperate forest, in the south of Chile and Argentina. It defends itself from its predators by lying on its back, stiff, pretending to be dead.

In detail, the species Rhinoderma darwinii y Rhinoderma red They are “in a state of danger” and “in critical danger”, respectively, due to the loss of their habitat, and due to the impacts of the climate crisis, Minister Francisca Toledo noted in the text.

The Rhinoderma rufum, also known as the cowboy toad or the Northern Darwin frog, It has not been observed since 1981. Hence the category of “critical danger” and “probable extinction”. According to the NGO Ranita de Darwin, if its disappearance is confirmed, it would be the first species to have that sad end in modern times in Chile.

“This Thursday, the Comptroller General of the Republic reported that it took note of decree No. 38 that approves the Recovery, Conservation and Management Plan (Recoge) of Darwin’s frogs (Rhinoderma darwinii and Rhinoderma rufum) (…) which seeks to protect these native species of Chile that are highly threatened,” the Government explained.

Regarding the decrees recently withdrawn from the Comptroller’s Office, the statement explains that “the Ministry of the Environment is in the process of review” and that “due to the complexity of each one, there is no specific time for their re-entry into this body.”

The RECOGE Plan aims to protect and recover Darwin’s frog populations, unique species of Chilean biodiversity, highly threatened by habitat loss, diseases and climate change.

It began to be implemented with Exempt Resolution No. 5,181 of October 10, 2024, with the signature of Maximiliano Proaño Ugalde, then Undersecretary of the Environment. And last year a decree was issued to approve the “Recovery Plan for Darwin’s Frogs (Rhinoderma darwini and R. rufum).”

According to EMOLamong the other decrees whose processing was canceled is the one that declared the Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti), another characteristic animal of Chile, a natural monument. And two others contemplated the creation of the “Mar de Juan Fernández” and “Nazca Desventuradas II” national parks.

From the NGO Wounded by Darwin They had been alert about the lowering of the decree on that animal. “It was the last necessary stage for said plan to be made official. We call on the authorities to prioritize its review and re-entry, since it is a fundamental technical coordination instrument,” they said.

They had also clarified that the withdrawal of the decrees is a “usual administrative procedure, not a technical rejection.”

“In each change of government, the new ministerial teams review the decrees in process, temporarily withdraw them to analyze them and then re-enter them,” the NGO explained.