Paraguay’s Dramatic Land-Use Change in the 20th Century: Concerning Massive Deforestation and Crawling Reforestation

Abstract

Over the last century, Paraguay was among the top countries worldwide regarding absolute and relative natural forest loss. According to FAO data, in 2011 66.8% of GHG emissions in Paraguay came from landuse change and forestry (FAOSTAT 2011). That is more than three times the global average and requires special attention. Efforts to introduce and implement adequate laws to stop dramatic deforestation were slow and poorly executed. At the same time reforestation initiatives remain rather limited, and both national (public), corporate (private), and smallholder efforts at tree planting are small scale compared to programs implemented by neighboring countries. This chapter analyzes the reasons and scale of deforestation in both of Paraguay’s very divergent vegetative regions: Eastern Paraguay and the Chaco. While the dramatic forest loss in Eastern Paraguay occurred mostly between 1945 and 2004 (until the introduction of the Zero Deforestation Law), land conversion in the Chaco region is a relatively new phenomenon, but dramatic in scale and pace. The chapter focuses on forest issues but the analysis is linked to other relevant social, legal, political, economic and environmental aspects. It looks at the driving forces for deforestation (illegal timber trade, land conversion for soybean cultivation and cattle breeding) and its actors. Finally, it assesses the initiatives to stop deforestation in the Eastern and Western regions and evaluates the development of forest plantations. Before concluding, the chapter points to the main constraints for the reforestation initiatives and concludes with some prospects for the future. This chapter was originally published in "Paraguay and Peru: Political, Social and Environmental Issues". © 2017 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.