Concern for the environmental consequences of the forestry schemes applied in Uruguay is growing all over the country. The planned installation of a pulp and paper mill in the small city of Fray Bentos, on the River Uruguay coast, has raised a wave of protest. This fact is impressive since the unemployment rate in that city is particularly high.
WRM is active on both issues (plantations and the pulp and paper mill) and has facilitated the creation of a coalition of NGOs aimed at raising awareness and organizing opposition against the model. The coalition adopted the name of "Guayubira" (Patagonula americana), an almost extinct native tree of northern Uruguay. The coalition is becoming very active in different areas of the country and is also beginning to lobby parliamentarians to introduce changes to the current forestry legislation and to eliminate subsidies to plantations.