Almost 90% of the deforestation that has occurred in Paraguay is registered in the Chaco and is associated with the advance of the agricultural frontier. The bill approved by the Chamber of Deputies for oil exploration in Médanos del Chaco Park could exacerbate this situation.
According to the National Report on Forest Coverage and Changes in Soil Use 2017 to 2020 recently published by the National Institute of Forests (INFONA), it was possible to verify the loss of 4 million hectares of forests in the last 15 years.
🇧🇷During 2005 and 2020, around 4.37 million hectares of forest were transformed into other land uses, mainly for activities related to agriculture and livestock. Almost 46% of the land use change recorded in the Chaco during the 15 years of analysis occurred during 2005 and 2011, a period in which there was an increase in agricultural production activities in this region.” states the said report.
This “land use change”, as deforestation is called, in the Chaco region is responsible for a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions. The report Chaco Paraguayo, extractivism and the phenomenon of climate change indicates that land use change has been the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions in Paraguay, more than 50% of the GHG contribution at the national level comes from the conversion of land forests to agricultural land.
destruction of biodiversity
Added to this impact is the destruction of biodiversity and the balance of the Chaco ecosystem; In this regard, the book Extractivism in the Paraguayan Chaco points out that livestock and agricultural activities cause real damage to the biodiversity of the Paraguayan Chaco, because nature has its recharge cycles and the current level of exploitation does not allow it to recover. Therefore, animal and plant species of high value for the survival of other living beings are disappearing.
Going deeper into this regard, Environmental Engineer Guillermo Achucarro points out that deforestation for conversion to pasture or agricultural land not only emits more gases than it absorbs, but also loses many other ecosystem services that are fundamental to the ecosystem/atmospheric balance; such as: Contribution to the attenuation of physical environmental extremes: prolonged droughts, frosts, winds, insolation, high temperatures, major storms and floods.
🇧🇷The fact that they deforested so much in such a short time in this region not only emitted a large amount of GHGs into the atmosphere, but also radically weakened the resilience of the ecosystem, which makes it much more subject to various types of problems such as forest fires.” Achucarro mentioned, adding that those ecosystem services that are being lost with the current destruction are not recovered with any monoculture. 🇧🇷The fact that we have reached this point in the climate crisis is not only due to the emission of an enormous amount of GHGs, but also because the ecosystem services that make us less vulnerable to the phenomena of climate change are being eliminated.he concluded.
Chaco Dunes
This already alarming reality could become even more serious after the approval in the Chamber of Deputies of a Bill that will allow oil exploration in the area of the Parque Médanos del Chaco Nature Reserve. In this regard the The #PorLosBosques coalition, which brings together Non-Governmental Organizations, warned that the approval of this law would represent a serious setback in terms of environmental protection.
🇧🇷Médanos del Chaco Park is home to families of the Ayoreo People in voluntary isolation and is home to the source of the Timane River, vital for the life of Alto Chaco and the different production systems. It is the only protected area that protects this peculiar ecosystem in Paraguay. It is of vital importance for the survival of hundreds of species, with Los Médanos being a site of global and regional importance for phytogenic resources. Likewise, it protects the only confined freshwater aquifer in the Chaco; in addition to being the Core Zone of the Chaco Biosphere Reserve in Paraguay, recognized by UNESCO and has several archaeological and historical sites” points out the Coalition in a statement.
The organizations ensure that the reduction of the legal protection of a National Park for prospecting and potential exploitation of hydrocarbons cannot be compatible with the commitments and environmental policies assumed by the Paraguayan State, which is why they ask the Senate to reject it. bill.