Author: Samuel Halligan
Edited by: Michael Volpe, Manuel De Jesus Fernandez and Alexa Bryden
When discussing deforestation many struggle to think beyond the Amazon Rain Forests which is slowly being destroyed by humanity. When one takes a look outside the Amazon they would find out that over thirty percent of the world is covered in forests and that only 9 percent of those forests are protected from those who want to cut them down.The most extreme cases of deforestation in Argentina are the Chaco and Yungas rain forests. The Chaco rain forest is home to over four million people, many rare species of trees and species and accounts for most of Argentina’s deforestation. One of the biggest issues with this widespread deforestation of the Chaco is that many individuals of indigenous background are losing their homes. Around the globe indigenous people depend on the resources of the rain forest for survival. It is quite common for people to lose their land to deforestation and be forced to move outside the rain forest into environments that they are not used to living in and with resources they are not used to using.
Picture of annual rate of deforestation in Argentina
The deforestation of the Chaco and Yungas rain forests truly accelerated when a genetically modified soybean was introduced to Argentina by American company Monsanto. This genetically modified soybean has sparked increased soy production over the years and has made Argentina one of the worlds top producers of the soybean. While this may be great for the economy of Argentina it has caused immeasurable damage to the rain forests, in the last decade alone over 2.5 million acres of rain forest have been turned into soybean fields. Deforestation is slowly destroying communities, species and our world and we do almost nothing to stop it.
Environmental issues do not only stem from soybeans, Argentinian beef an internationally recognized export and a major part of their society are is causing environmental damage as well. In general ranching causes massive green house gas emissions, in a country which relies on beef as a huge export such as Argentina one can only imagine the large amount of green house gases emitted by their cattle industry. Not only does the cattle industry release insane amounts of greenhouse gases, they also lock cows in small areas where the feces of the animals accumulates and is eventually filtered into the groundwater. This means that the groundwater in the area gets polluted with gases such as methane and nitrous acid which makes the land dangerous to live and produce beef on.
Example of one of many kinds of Argentinian cattle farms
In general environmental issues are a problem world wide and Argentina is no stranger to the damage of deforestation, pollution and the toll that their exports take on the environment. Moving forward Argentina is taking a stance towards using new renewable energy resources, as a fairly windy and sunny country president Mauricio Macri has stated that he wants to push towards solar and even wind energy as an energy source instead of fossil fuels. This is truly amazing considering that Argentina relies of fossil fuels for two-thirds of its power and it shows their dedication in changing the entire basis of their countries source of energy. While this does not take away from the large issues of deforestation or the glaring environmental issues in the production of beef and soy, it illustrates that as a country Argentina is truly willing to work towards a better future and that unlike many other countries in the world have started to make changes to better the world.
Summary Factoid Questions:
Q: How many acres of rain forest has been turned into soybean farms in the last decade?
A: 2.5 million and counting!
Q: What rain forests in Argentina are slowly being destroyed?
A: The Chaco and Yungas rain forests
Q: What exports of Argentina are slowly destroying their environment?
A: Soybeans and beef
Works Cited
Greene, Caitlyn. “Beyond the Amazon: Deforestation in Argentina.” The Argentina Independent. The Argentina Independent, 12 Sept. 2008. Web. 5 Apr. 2017. http://www.argentinaindependent.com/socialissues/environment/beyond-the-amazon-deforestation-in-argentina/
Rossi, Leonardo. “The Cattle Industry in Argentina Is Changing Rapidly – Not for the Better.”D+C. Development and Cooperation, 10 Sept. 2015. Web. 05 Apr. 2017. https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/cattle-industry-argentina-changing-rapidly-not-better
Mander, Benedict. “Financial Times.” Argentina turns to renewable energy. Financial Times, 9 June 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2017. https://www.ft.com/content/c6e58576-2da1-11e6-bf8d-26294ad519fc
“Environmental Problems in Argentina.” WWF. WWF, Web. 05 Apr. 2017. http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/argentina/environmental_problems_argentina/