Greenpeace activists, dressed as 'jaguars', used chains to immobilise bulldozers that have been destroying Yungas forest in north west Argentina. Argentina's forests are being cut down to grow Monsanto's genetically engineered soya for export as animal feed to Europe and China.
Valdivia ancient forest of Chile
Beyond the tropics, rainforests are a rarity, but the Valdivia
ancient forest in Chile is the second largest temperate rainforest
on the planet.
These forests have a unique spectrum of life and unusually high
biodiversity for its temperate climate, including the Darwin Frog,
the Pudú deer, the Chilote fox and the Chilean pine, or monkey
puzzle tree. Some trees have been found that are more than 3600
years old.
These forests are also home to indigenous communities such as
the Pehuenche community of Chile's Quinquen Valley, the Mapuche
Indians of Huitrapulli and other local communities who have long
depended on the natural wealth of the forest for their physical,
cultural and spiritual way of life.
Despite its isolation, the Chilean jungle is not safe from
destruction. Most of the forest has already been cut down or
damaged, and the last intact areas are threatened by the timber
industry. Only a quarter of the remaining forest is in a relatively
undisturbed condition. These forests are at greatest threat along
the coastal mountain ranges and in the northern region where only a
few of the ancient forests remain, mostly unprotected.
Already over 10 percent of Chile's forest has been converted to
plantations, most of which are dominated by exotic species.
The Great Chaco and Yungas Rainforests of Argentina
The Yungas Rainforest and the Great Chaco American forest are
two neighbouring ecosystems. They are a 'hot-spot' of biodiversity
and wildlife and home to the rare jaguar. Once, the jaguar
population of Argentina extended as far as Patagonia but today
these populations have been devastated by hunting and the loss of
habitat due to deforestation and are close to extinction. The Chaco
forest is home to the giant armadillo, which is facing extinction.
The forests are also home to millions of indigenous people who live
in the forests and depend on them for life.
However, these forests are being destroyed at one of the fastest
rates in the world. The deforestation rate of the Chaco forest of
northern Argentina, is up to six times higher than the world
average.
When these forests are destroyed, any wildlife in the
bulldozers' path is shot. Armadillos and other, smaller mammals,
are frequently burned along with the groups of fallen trees,
stacked up along the newly deforested fields.
Many varieties of precious hard wood trees grow in the Chaco
forest, such as the Iron Wood tree, used to make 'sleepers' for
railways around the world. When the forests are cleared to make way
for soya, these trees are often burnt or illegally sold. This leads
to huge economic losses. If the forest was properly managed, jobs
could be created in sustainable forestry, and the environmental
damage caused by deforestation and soya monoculture could be
avoided.
Forests destroyed for soya crops
Soya expansion is the latest threat to native forests and
jungles in South America, sustained by the increased demand for
soya based animal feed from both the European Union and China.
Forests are being converted for soya production in Argentina,
Bolivia, Paraguay and southern Brazil. These areas are considered
to be some of the most biologically diverse forest ecosystems in
the world.
The rate of destruction within the Yungas Chaco forests has
accelerated since 1996, when Monsanto introduced genetically
engineered soya beans into Argentina. Since then, the country has
extended its agricultural frontiers to grow genetically engineered
soya for export as animal feed, at the expense of its threatened
forests, wildlife and the homes and livelihoods of many people. It
is illegal to log the forest's valuable tree species, but police
and local authorities in the region are doing nothing to prevent
the biotech industry clear-cutting the land.
Initially, biotechnology industry spokespeople and even some
Argentinean authorities said that higher yields of genetically
engineered soya would avoid the need to deforest Argentina.
However, the forests are still under threat and it's clear higher
yields of soya have only been achieved through cultivating more
land and deforestation.
Greenpeace wants the forests saved
The solution Greenpeace is campaigning for is a two-year
moratorium on forest conversion in Argentina while the problems
caused by land conversion are addressed:
- Land Planning: A New Land Planning Programme must be
established so that Argentina's forests can be saved and become
productive areas again under sustainable regulations for both
people and biodiversity.
- Land Tenure Regulation: All indigenous people and 'campesinos'
must be given the right to legally own sufficient land to enable
them to work and feed both themselves and their families.
For the full story we recommend you visit the Greenpeace
International website
copyright 2002 Greenpeace/Global Forest Watch
Potentially intact ancient
forest, >50,000 heactares
Other forests
Sources: Based on information generated by the project "Official
Land Register and Evaluation of the Native Vegetative Resources of
Chile", Conama. Birf. Uach. Puc. Uct 1999, University of Maryland
2000