Argentina Judge Halts Deforestation of Chaco Forest in Rare Move

An Argentine federal judge on Monday ordered a three-month suspension of deforestation in northern Chaco province, a rare step to protect one of the world’s woodland ecosystems that is most rapidly being destroyed to make way for farmland. The unusual though not unprecedented move, announced officially, opens new tab on the public prosecutor’s office website, comes amid an investigation into an alleged public-private corruption scheme involving both business people and local officials profiting from illegal land clearance. The province of Chaco is part of the American Gran Chaco, the largest forested region in South America after the Amazon and spans between Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil. It has some of the worst deforestation rates in the world. This dry forest ecosystem is home to a wide range of wildlife, including jaguars, foxes, manned wolves, ocelots, tapirs, armadillos, capybaras and pumas, among others.

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