A significant part of deforestation occurs on illegally acquired lands. The high concentration of land in large territorial areas drives the advance of the agricultural frontier and livestock farming.<ref name=”Plan_Nacional”/> The Gini coefficient for the land (an indicator between 0 and 1 where 1 represents the maximum inequality), for Paraguay is 0.93, the most unequal land ownership in Latin America.<ref name=”Oxfam” />
A significant part of deforestation occurs on illegally acquired lands. The high concentration of land in large territorial areas drives the advance of the agricultural frontier and livestock farming.<ref name=”Plan_Nacional”/> The Gini coefficient for the land (an indicator between 0 and 1 where 1 represents the maximum inequality), for Paraguay is 0.93, the most unequal land ownership in Latin America.<ref name=”Oxfam” />
Between 1987 and 2012, around 44,000 square kilometers of forests were lost in Paraguay, mainly due to the expansion of cattle farms in the western part of the country.<ref name=”NASA”/>
== Anthropogenic fires and land grabs ==
== Anthropogenic fires and land grabs ==
The deforestation in Paraguay is the process of destruction or depletion of the forest cover in Paraguay. Between 1970 and the year 2000, Paraguay lost more than 50% of its Atlantic Forest cover.[1] Deforestation is also advancing in the Alto Paraguay area, where most of the forest area was already lost during the period 2007 to 2012.[2] Between 2000 and 2015, an average of more than 330,000 hectares were lost per year, totaling almost 5 million hectares deforested during that period.
Paraguay is the South American country with the second highest rate of deforestation according to Global Forest Watch measurements. In 2004, Law No. 2524 on Zero Deforestation was enacted, which prohibited deforestation in the Eastern Region of Paraguay. In 2020, the law was extended for another ten years.
The Gran Chaco region (stretches across parts of Paraguay, Argentina, and Bolivia), home to the second largest forest in Latin America (behind only the Amazon rainforest) has one of the highest deforestation rates globally. Deforestation has been particularly widespread in Paraguay in recent years.[3]
The main causes of deforestation in Paraguay are the expansion of the agricultural frontier and livestock farming.[2] Indirect causes of deforestation include a low level of institutionalization and difficulties in implementing territorial planning schemes.[2]
A significant part of deforestation occurs on illegally acquired lands. The high concentration of land in large territorial areas drives the advance of the agricultural frontier and livestock farming.[2] The Gini coefficient for the land (an indicator between 0 and 1 where 1 represents the maximum inequality), for Paraguay is 0.93, the most unequal land ownership in Latin America.[1]
Between 1987 and 2012, around 44,000 square kilometers of forests were lost in Paraguay, mainly due to the expansion of cattle farms in the western part of the country.[3]
Anthropogenic fires and land grabs
[edit]
.jpg)
According to data from the Instituto Forestal Nacional (INFONA), in 2019, 2,450,749 hectares were burned. In 2020, 3,494,109 hectares and in 2023, 1,119,096 hectares. The majority of the fires are caused by human activities.[4] Anthropogenic fires are utilized by the agribusiness sector as a tool to facilitate illegal land grabbing and the expansion of the agricultural frontier. There are almost no state controls to enforce environmental and labor regulations, resulting in displacement of indigenous communities such as the Ayoreo.[5]
