Ecobreves – ARGENTINA:: Native Forests Shrinking

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

BUENOS AIRES., Jan 27 2003 (IPS) - Argentina has 33 million hectares of native forests, just one-third of the total registered less than a century ago, according to a study by the Secretariat of the Environment and Sustainable Development The report indicates that in 1914 there were 106 million hectares of native forests. The expansion of farm and stockbreeding activities, deforestation and fires are destroying the country’s forests.

According to the study, which is based on satellite images, maps, aerial inspections and other sources of information, one of the best-preserved areas is the southern province of Patagonia, where there are abundant forests of native species like lenga, coihue-oak and pehuén (monkey puzzle tree).