Teaming up to save Argentine Chaco forests

Abstract

We stood with the tall, broad-shouldered owner of a large, commercial farm and looked out at his 8000 hectares of fields, cattle, and machinery. We had driven down a long, dusty road in the Argentine Chaco—the farm was 100 kilometers from the nearest town—to interview the owner and better understand his land-use decisions. While explaining his plans to clear-cut additional land to expand monocrops, the farmer mentioned with approval that the newly elected governor would appoint as minister of production an agronomist who we knew had spent the past 10 years facilitating illegal deforestation permits.