Tropical deforestation in Paraguay and our BBQ
The dry tropical forests of the Gran Chaco are disappearing faster than any other forests on earth, threatening endemic species and one of the last indigenous peoples living in isolation from industrialised society.
A number of commodities traded worldwide are driving this destruction. While the role of beef and soya in fuelling deforestation is well known, a new investigation by the British NGO Earthsight has fixed the spotlight on a previously unexamined protagonist: charcoal. Published on 6 July, Earthsight’s report charts the connections between forest clearances in the Paraguayan Chaco and supermarkets in the EU including Lidl, Aldi and Carrefour.
The Chaco is described by David Attenborough as “one of the last great wilderness areas in the world.” Encompassing parts of Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina, it harbours high levels of biodiversity, sheltering 500 species of bird and 150 species of mammal including jaguar, capybara and giant anteater. The region is also home to one of the last indigenous communities in the Americas living in isolation from industrial society, groups of semi-nomadic Ayoreo.
The speed of this destruction has triggered grave concern among both conservationists and those charged with protecting indigenous rights. “The clearance of Chaco forest is one of the largest and fastest losses of natural forest ever seen,” the NGO FERN warned in a recent report. The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples has spoken of “serious threats posed to groups in isolation by the relentless spread of deforestation.” In 2016 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution ordering the Paraguayan government to take action to prevent Ayoreo communities living in voluntary isolation from being wiped out by the advance of the agricultural frontier.