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Viewing cable 06BUENOSAIRES666, Argentina: Environmental Challenges in Argentina's

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06BUENOSAIRES666 2006-03-21 17:55 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Buenos Aires
VZCZCXRO6914
RR RUEHRG
DE RUEHBU #0666/01 0801755
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 211755Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3899
INFO RUCNBEH/BRASILIA ENVIRONMENTAL
RUEHC/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHDC
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