Greenpeace uncovers illegal deforestation of more than 40,000 hectares of protected forests in Argentina

27.01.2017

Satellite image analysis released by Greenpeace this month has detected the illegal deforestation of more than 40,000 hectares of protected forest in Argentina between January and December 2016.

The damage is concentrated in Santiago del Estero to the North, where more than half of the illegal clearing occurred. The rest of the deforestation affects the Formosa, Chaco and Salta provinces. These four provinces have the highest rates of deforestation in the country.

The native forest cleared is protected by a 2007 Forest Law and classified as: I. Red and II. Yellow, corresponding to first and second conservation priorities under this law. According to the report, the total area deforested in 2016 was 112,252 ha, more than one-third of which occurred in forests protected by these categories.

Greenpeace Argentina called on Coca-Cola last month to cut business ties with its lemon juice supplier La Moraleja S.A. who is responsible for the illegal deforestation of more than 3,000 hectares of primary forest in Salta.

La Moraleja S.A. owns 30,000 hectares of private land in an important biodiversity corridor linking Chaco Forest and Yungas Rainforest. Half of this territory has already been converted to soy and citric fruit plantations.

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