‘Winners’ and ‘losers’ of the agricultural expansion in the Argentine Dry Chaco

Abstract

Biodiversity and natural resources constitute a social safety net for forest-dependent communities and represent their main source of livelihood. Agricultural expansion driven by global food demand is not only deeply altering landscapes at the local level but also affect the forms of life and culture of rural life. These changes are increasing inequalities between stakeholders in developing countries and causing the direct displacement of numerous rural families. In this article, we focus on the Argentine Dry Chaco, one of the most threatened forest systems in the world, to analyse evidence about how land-use changes asymmetrically affect social wellbeing across landscapes and generate conflicts between stakeholders regarding the use and access to natural resources. This information needs to be considered for better territorial planning and to propose conflict resolution strategies towards more just and sustainable relationships between people and nature in complex landscapes.