Alerce Wood
The alerce tree is a rare species found only in the Andes mountain range and can live for up to 3,500 years. It is often referred to as a “first cousin” of California’s giant redwood trees. Because of its durability and impermeability, alerce wood is extremely valuable and can fetch as much as US$5,000 per cubic meter in illegal international markets (ST, Aug. 4).
Live alerce trees are protected under international law, but a loophole in Chilean law permits extraction and commercialization of trees that have died naturally or were cut before 1974, when the law was passed.