Illegal deforestation in Salta (Photo courtesy of Greenpeace Argentina)
On Friday, environmental organisations and various politicians from different parties presented a bill in congress, asking that the national Environment Secretary intervene to stop the deforestation in the northern province of Salta.
The groups say that Juan Manuel Urtubey, the governor of Salta, has systematically violated the Ley de Bosques, or Forest Law.
The law, which was passed in 2007, led to surveys of Argentina’s rural areas, which categorised forests and wooded areas in a traffic-light system, protecting areas classified as ‘red’, allowing for selected logging in areas categorised as ‘yellow’, and permitting the clearing of areas denominated ‘green’. However, the groups say that Urtubey has allowed various areas to be recategorised, effectively legalising clearing of areas which should be protected.
“The re-categorisations that Urtubey has authorised cheats the Forest Law and the communities that participated in the province’s land survey. The province has always resisted this law. Salta is to the Forest law what San Juan is to the Glacier Law,” said Eugenia Testa, campaigns director for Greenpeace in Argentina.
The Foundation for Environment and Natural Resources (FARN) noted that in Salta the provincial legislature did not take charge of the land survey, which was instead managed by the executive branch of the provincial government. The resulting map categorised 1.3m hectares as ‘red’, 5.4m as ‘yellow’, and 1.6m as ‘green’.
But, since 2010, as a result of gubernatorial decrees, a mechanism has been set up which allows for territorial re-categorisation at the request of the person who owns the titles to the land. The resultant lowering of the categories and protections has led to more deforestation.
Greenpeace estimates that 150,000 formerly protected hectares are currently categorised as green. “All of the deforestation grants that violate the law should be cancelled. Salta should execute a moratorium on clearing and the national Environment Secretary should review each case,” said Testa.
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