Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Chopping Down Las Yungas

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BUENOS AIRES, Jul 28 2003 (IPS) - The Argentine government has given a company permission to log 1,000 hectares of the northwestern Las Yungas jungle, an area that UNESCO declared a biosphere reserve in 2002. Las Yungas, which extends through the provinces of Jujuy and Salta, holds half of Argentina's biological diversity, though it covers just two percent of national territory. It is home to the largest wildcat in the western hemisphere, the yaguareté and more than 60 percent of the country's bird species.

More than 500 local and international experts agree that if deforestation of Las Yungas is not stopped, this jungle will disappear in 2008.