Argentina: Environmental Challenges in Argentina's

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BUENOS AIRES 000666 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR OES/ETC, OES/PCI, WHA/BSC DINT FOR FWS, NPS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV ECON EAGR KSCA AR SUBJECT: Argentina: Environmental Challenges in Argentina's Grand Chaco Region Reference: 05 Buenos Aires 744 ¶1. Summary: ESTHOFF and Brasilia Regional Environmental Officer (REO) traveled to Chaco and Santiago del Estero provinces in Argentina's environmentally sensitive Grand Chaco area from March 6 - 9 to visit national and provincial parks and to examine deforestation and the ecological challenges posed by the rapidly expanding agricultural frontier. Vast areas of the region were deforested and replaced by argriculture, in particular soybean production, a proliferation of sawmills and charcoal factories, and large soybean and cotton processing facilities. National park rangers pointed out several instances of private enterprises operating in a provincial park in Santiago del Estero, apparently with the knowledge and acquiescence of the provincial government. ESTH Section and REO recommend funding an OES-I project to train park rangers, facilitate communication between provincial and national park authorities and raise public ecological consciousness in the region (see para 20) as well as continue to press for a "sister park" program between Argentine and U.S. parks. End Summary. ¶2. From March 6 - 9, ESTHOFF traveled with Brasilia Regional Environmental Officer (REO) to the Grand Chaco area of Santiago del Estero and Chaco provinces in Argentina to examine national and provincial parks and to investigate deforestation and the ecological challenges posed by the rapidly expanding agricultural frontier in the region. -------------- Overview of The Grand Chaco Region -------------- ¶3. The second largest bioregion in South America, the Grand Chaco region covers over 1,066,000 square kilometers across parts of Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, and northern Argentina, including Chaco and Santiago del Estero provinces. It is a flat plain that contains both tropical and subtropical landscapes, savannahs, marshes, scrublands, vast plains and many types of forests. Deforestation in the Argentine portion of the Grand Chaco in favor of agricultural interests, mainly soybean, has brought concerns about the region to the forefront of many Argentine environmentalist groups. ¶4. The expansion of the agricultural frontier is resulting in one of the strongest periods of deforestation in Argentine history. From 1990 to 2000, the world lost forests at a rate of 0.23 percent per year. According to the Secretariat of the Environment's (SOE) "Report on Deforestation in Argentina," areas in the Argentine Grand Chaco region showed rates as high as 9.34 percent from 1998 to 2002, more than 40 times the world rate. The areas of intense deforestation are centered in the forests of the provinces of Santiago del Estero and Chaco. According to a conservation and sustainable development specialist with Fundacion Vida Silvestre (associated with the World Wildlife Fund),the deforestation techniques used in the Chaco region are wasteful and lead to rapid desertification, especially in the region's semiarid and arid areas. He describes the method of placing a chain between two large bulldozers that then proceed to flatten everything between them. The trees and other organic matter are then removed from the field and burned (reftel). -------------- Deforestation Evident in the Countryside -------------- ¶5. Chaco Provincial Undersecretary of Natural Resources and Environment Bruno Schwesig accompanied ESTHOFF and REO on a drive through a large swath of southern Chaco province where agricultural enterprises have cleared the majority of the surrounding countryside for soybean, cotton and other crops, leaving ecologically barren islands of trees in the middle of the fields. Interspersed among the fields are a number of large silos and industrial-size agricultural processing facilities. Schwesig noted that soybean production has supplanted cotton as the primary cash crop of the region over the last eight to ten years. ¶6. Deciduous hardwoods are prominent in the arid Grand Chaco region of Argentina. In particular, three species of trees hold significant commercial value: Quebracho Colorado Santiageno, Quebracho Colorado Chaqueno, and Quebracho Blanco. Tannins extracted from the quebracho trees are widely used in the leather industry and the timber is valued for its durability as a construction material. A quebracho BUENOS AIR 00000666 002 OF 004 tree may take up to 50 years to reach a commercially viable size and, due to over-harvesting, they are increasingly scarce. ESTHOFF and REO observed a number of trucks containing large loads of freshly cut quebracho trees and sawmills of various sizes scattered along the roadside. Schwesig said that although a regulatory system for controlling quebracho harvests exists, 20-30 percent of the yield is still illegal. Hundreds of charcoal factories that transform the non-commercial timber removed from land clearing operations into charcoal for outdoor grills and for use in pig iron production dot the landscape. These charcoal facilities often consist of one or two brick-domed structures in the backyard of residences and seem to be one of the most common features of the countryside. -------------- Parque Provincial Pampa del Indio -------------- ¶7. ESTHOFF and REO, accompanied by Schwesig, toured the Parque Provincial Pampa del Indio in Chaco Province. Overall, the park appeared well maintained and the surrounding countryside gave the appearance of a well- preserved ecosystem. ¶8. According to park rangers, the 8,500 hectare park receives around 1,500 visitors throughout the year in addition to the estimated 40,000 who attend an annual two- day event in the park in July. Park rangers acknowledged that the event, which also brings an estimated 10,000 automobiles, did cause some environmental damage, but stated that since the event was held in a defined area, the impact was minimal. Schwesig said the province's annual budget for park maintenance was USD 33,000. -------------- Copo National Park -------------- ¶9. The 155,000 hectare Copo National Park in Santiago del Estero Province, established in 2002, is home to over 170 bird species and such endangered cats as the jaguar, puma and ocelot. In addition, many endemic species such as the giant armadillo (weighing up to 150 pounds) are only found in this type of ecosystem. The park itself is located in the extreme northeastern corner of the province near the small town of Pampa de Los Guanacos, where a sawmill is one of the most prominent features. ¶10. The park director stated that, despite national efforts to promote sustainable development, the agricultural frontier had continued to grow unabated. As proof, he produced a color-enhanced satellite image that depicted rapid deforestation in the area since 2001. The image showed an impressive and unmistakable advance of deforestation from the south of the park up to and indeed inside of the provincial park. ¶11. The national park, which receives only 30-40 visitors annually, is bordered on its southern and western frontier by the 110,000 hectare Provincial Parque del Copo, which the national park director said is intended to serve as a buffer zone for the national park. The provincial park is notable for its large, but dwindling, stand of quebracho trees. ¶12. During a drive down an access road that serves as the eastern boundary of the provincial park, the national park director pointed out a number of agricultural fields and estancias located on the public land. He said these enterprises, some recently established, were being used by individuals with ties to the government of Santiago del Estero. ESTHOFF and REO observed a truck with a load of freshly-cut quebracho logs exiting one of these estancias, despite a 2004 moratorium by the government of Santiago del Estero on the clearing of forested land in the province. ¶13. The national park has a similar, but less severe problem with people residing within the park boundaries. Officials have allowed five families, in-place prior to the creation of the Copo National Park, to continue to reside within the boundaries of the park; however several plans are under way to either relocate these families to locations outside of the park or to limit the area in which they have the right to graze their cattle. These 24 individuals own around 2,500 head of cattle and the environmental impact from their activities is apparent around their settlement. The soil is compacted and barren of undergrowth. The park director stated that, due to a lack of standing water, the BUENOS AIR 00000666 003 OF 004 cattle generally are limited to an area near the settlements. To limit the impact of using wood for fuel and fencing, the residents can only use dead wood found within the park boundaries for construction and cooking purposes. ¶14. The park director said the national park has an approved budget to construct a visitor's center, interpretive center, small campground and housing for park rangers inside the park. Currently, the park's four rangers live outside of the park in the town of Pampa de Los Guanacos. -------------- What is Driving Deforestation? -------------- ¶15. A variety of factors have come together over the last ten years to expand agricultural production in formerly non- arable regions. Increased precipitation over the last five years has allowed agricultural expansion to regions previously too arid to support crop production. Good market prices for soybean and other crops have spurred agricultural production. Improved technology in the form of better machinery and genetically modified seed material has also increased productivity and allowed cultivation in semi-arid regions. ¶16. Argentina is the world's largest exporter of both soybean oil and soybean meal as well as the third largest producer of soybeans (after the United States and Brazil), accounting for about 17 percent of the world's production. Soybeans comprise one-fourth of the country's exports and were the source of USD 1.5 billion in export taxes in 2003 accounting for 12.5 percent of total government revenue that year. The soybean boom is considered one of the driving forces behind Argentina's current economic recovery. However, the 172 percent growth in production from 1993 to 2002 has meant that land dedicated to soybean production has increased from 149,000 hectares to 768,000 hectares in the province of Chaco alone. While some of this land was previously cultivated during the Cotton boom of the 1990s, large areas of native forests have been turned into additional acreage for soybean cultivation in recent years (reftel). ¶17. Other economic incentives also favor deforestation. Forested land holds lower real estate value than cleared land. A source at the Secretariat of the Environment told ESTHOFF that lines of credit facilitating deforestation for agricultural purposes are available to investors as long as they conform to specific guidelines. Forestry management subsidies are sparse. Moreover, property tax is assessed according to the land's potential. Thus, if forested land could potentially be cleared for agricultural uses, it is taxed at a higher rate, encouraging landowners to develop their land as soon as possible (reftel). -------------- CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS -------------- ¶18. Preservation of its portion of the Grand Chaco ecosystem appears to be a high priority for the Chaco provincial government. Schwesig noted that the province is committed to the creation of a one million hectare park and wildlife corridor system centered on the "impenetrable forest" region of his province. Families already in the area will be allowed to stay, but will face severe requirements for grazing livestock. ¶19. Park rangers expressed frustration about the lack of communication and cross-training opportunities among the rangers, especially between provincial and national park officials in the region. Rangers were also concerned about public apathy towards the future of the Grand Chaco ecosystem, especially in Santiago del Estero, but did note that the provincial government in Chaco province appeared to be prepared to make a significant endowment of public lands for conservation. ¶20. ESTHOFF and REO concur that promoting cross- communication among and training of rangers along with raising public awareness are key to stemming the environmental degradation in Argentina's Grand Chaco region and suggest an OES-I project to fund workshops focusing on those topics. The ESTH Section and REO also support a continued effort to establish a "sister-parks" affiliation between well-managed U.S. parks and Argentine parks in the BUENOS AIR 00000666 004 OF 004 region that would allow Argentine parks to benefit from the experience of U.S. park professionals. ¶21. Comment: Given the limited funds Chaco province currently devotes its provincial park system, it's problems enforcing quebracho harvest quotas, the increased role of agriculture in the national economy, and the relatively low incomes endemic in the region, the Chaco provincial government faces a daunting task in implementing a plan to create a million acre park and wildlife-corridor system. Schwesig admitted that his biggest challenge is dealing with competing interests over the future of his province's remaining wild spaces. ¶22. The Santiago del Estero provincial government, through its management of Copo Provincial Park, has not demonstrated a strong commitment to preserve its portion of the Grand Chaco. Without a sustained push by this provincial government, the future of both the provincial park and Copo National Park (which relies on the buffer provided by the provincial park) looks bleak. ¶23. An effort to raise the environmental consciousness of the surrounding provincial governments could exert pressure on Santiago del Estero provincial government to become more environmentally active. This would also assist the Chaco provincial government in its efforts to balance competing agricultural and environmental interests. ¶24. Unfortunately, previous efforts to obtain "sister- parks" have been thwarted by a lack of travel funds. Any future attempts to establish such a program may encounter the same problem. End Comment. The cable was cleared by REO James Story. ¶25. To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our classified website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires.< /a> LLORENS