Still burning

The issue of deforestation keeps dominating the agenda here, and only seems to increase in urgency as the days go by. Andrew has recently done three separate trips into the Chaco along different roads, and has been horrified at the extent that forests have been cleared in the past year alone.

The following pictures, taken last week on the road from Tartagal to the Pilcomayo, are of an area that was covered in dense 30-metre high jungle the last time Andrew drove by. This situation is being repeated across the region as we write these lines.

On another trip made with ASOCIANA, Andrew visited indigenous communities that will be affected by the deforestation project we reported on previously, on an American-owned plot, called El Alamo. People here we very concerned about loosing the forests they have always used for hunting a gathering, yet knew precious little about the initiative. He was able to share details of the deforestation project with community members, and encourage them in taking actions to protect their ancestral lands, all which are now under private ownership.

On his latest trip, he visited San Ignacio, another community that is due to be affected by deforestation. These people live on lands purchased for them by the Anglican Church back in the 70’. Only 5 years ago it seemed unlikely that they would be affected by deforestation because they live in a relative dry region. Now it looks likely that they will end up surrounded by a sea of cleared lands that will be used to produce beans and cattle.

The following pictures are of Andrew with Dino, a local leader in San Ignacio, who makes his living from a combination of hunting, gathering and selling forests products, such as firewood (second picture). His way of life will be put under severe stress if his people loose these forests.

In the face of the unrelenting pace of forest clearance we are trying to articulate actions with other organisations. Our particular input, through ASOCIANA, continues to be in terms of obtaining and analysing deforestation proposals and questioning their technical assumptions. Though this is time consuming, it does provide a legal means through which to slow the process down, and buy some breathing space.

As the local rural population sees that there is little likelihood of the forests being protected, they themselves have now embarked on a process of cutting down trees to sell wood. The logic is that if they can’t stay and live in the forest they may as well take what they can now, and get some money together to make a life elsewhere. Consequently, many Indians are now cutting down trees, and as there is less and less forest left, they are beggining to fight over trees with fellow Indians. These conflicts are becoming more widespread, and some are becoming violent. The next picture shows Andrew with lumber that has been recently cut and piled ready for transport to the sawmill.

It is unlikely that these sad processes can be stopped any time soon, and if and when this happens it will probably be far too late for many communities. It is a fact that is very hard to accept, but that is the reality of the situation right now. In the meantime, we feel called to continue to do what we can in terms of providing affected people with the information they need in order to take actions to try and protect the Chaco forests they depend on for their livelihoods.

As individuals, we continue to investigate the possibilities of raising funds to purchase forested lands that can be then taken off the market and set aside for conservation and to provide local populations with regulated access to certain natural resources under strict management plans. Our ideas are gradually developing into plans, and we hope to be able to share more concrete details on this in the near future. We would be interested to hear from any one interested in supporting and developing this idea.