Illegal deforestation in the Gran Chaco forest region continues. A Greenpeace Argentina team conducted an overflight last week and discovered unlawful deforestation in the Chaco province of Argentina.
© Alejandro Espeche / GreenpeaceThe deforestation of 10,329 hectares was detected by comparing satellite images from November 2020 to July 2021. Greenpeace aerial images from July also show bulldozers in operation, with forest destruction recorded in at least 10 places in the province.
All of this illegal forest clearing is occurring despite the November 2020 ruling of the provincial government suspending such activity for the Chaco province, part of the Gran Chaco forest region in South America. The suspension of clearing was supposed to be a temporary solution but has not stopped deforestation. What is really needed is an update to Argentina’s Territorial Ordinance of Native Forests — and enforcement of the law.
Why this matters
The Gran Chaco is the second largest forest ecosystem in South America, after the Amazon. Divided amongst Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, and a small part of Brazil, the Gran Chaco is home to 3,400 plant species, 500 bird species, 150 mammals, 120 reptiles, and 100 amphibians. There are also more than 4 million people living in the region, around 8% of whom are Indigenous People depending on the forest to obtain food, water, lumber, and medicine.
Similar to that of the Amazon, clearings and logging with the Gran Chaco forest are driven by industries seeking to secure land for agricultural and livestock production, mostly for export to China and Europe. However, deforestation worsens climate change and generates extreme events, such as droughts and severe storms.
In the Argentine Chaco, there are around 200,000 native dwellers from nine Indigenous Peoples groups (most of them Wichi and Qom). Yet, according to Greenpeace Argentina monitoring, deforestation in the Salta, Chaco, Formosa, and Santiago del Estero provinces (Gran Chaco region of Argentina) was 44,815 hectares between January – June 2021 and more than 6 million hectares in the past 30 years.
© Alejandro Espeche / Greenpeace
© Alejandro Espeche / Greenpeace © Alejandro Espeche / Greenpeace” alt=”Bulldozer clearing path and removing branches in Chaco province of Argentina.
© Alejandro Espeche / Greenpeace © Alejandro Espeche / Greenpeace” alt=”Progression of deforestation in Chaco province of Argentina.
