Environmental organizations in Argentina have raised the alarm over the destruction of the forests of El Espinal in the northeastern province of Corrientes, due to serious flaws in the mapping of the region. El Espinal is one of the three largest blocks of native forest in Corrientes, and has already lost 72 percent of its tree cover, while the remaining forest has suffered heavy degradation as a result of agricultural and livestock-raising activities in the surrounding area.

This month the government initiated the process to authorize the clearing of another 12,181 hectares, according to a report on the Native Forest Management Law of Corrientes.

Emilio Spataro, coordinator of the Save Iberá campaign, told Tierramérica that the deforestation constitutes "a crime against the natural heritage of the people of Corrientes."

Activists maintain that serious errors were made in the land survey required by the forest law, resulting in authorization for the clearing of a larger area than the estimated total area of the forest.