Environmental challenges in Northern Argentina
Andrew and Maria Leake work in Salta, in our link diocese of Northern Argentina, where Andrew's father and grandfather were missionaries among the Indian peoples.
Andrew works part-time for ASOCIANA, the Anglican social programme serving these indigenous people, especially in issues of land rights and deforestation. He does research and writing for them and has published a book on the Indian peoples. Andrew also uses his skill as a pilot to fly over the Chaco, monitoring and filming the advancing deforestation.
In January 2009 Argentina's Supreme Court ordered a temporary halt to deforestation across most of the north and west of Salta province. This was the result of coordinated action by indigenous organisations, the Catholic Church and ASOCIANA. The Salta government was given 30 days to produce a list of all people and companies who have obtained deforestation permits since 2007.
At the public enquiry on Feb 18th 2009 the court maintained the order for deforestation north of Salta to be suspended. In June Andrew rejoiced that there had been little or no deforestation so far that year.
The Salta government was ordered to conduct a strategic and region wide, environmental assessment of all deforestation carried out to date and all planned in the near future. Since it was finished they have drawn up a land use map which forbids the deforestation of the Indian lands for agricultural purposes.
Pray that the big companies will continue to be prevented from deforestation of the area and pray for Andrew and ASOCIANA as there has been a backlash from some, including some Indians who want to make quick money logging.
Andrew has written a book The Hunting and Gathering Peoples of the Salta Chaco which gives detailed demographic information about the Indian people.
Below is the latest update on environmental challenges in Northern Argentina
Meeting the Minister
Together with members of ASOCIANA Andrew participated in a meeting with Salta's new (latest) Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development. The Minister had invited ASOCIANA to share their views on conflicts arising from the expansion of the agricultural frontier (read deforestation). Andrew was also able to make use of the opportunity to communicate some of the major weakness in the government’s current implementation of environmental impact studies. The Minister and his staff expressed a major interest in this, and suggested we might help them to run training sessions to help their staff to be better able to evaluate future studies. We hope that this link will develop further and that it may lead to a more constructive relationship with the state.
Bulldozers on the move
Anta, the region we are focusing (in southern Salta) in our search a suitable area of land to purchase lands for conservation continues to be battered by the bulldozers. Andrew’s criollo contacts in the region have recently reported having to go and literally stand in front of the machines to stop them knocking down forest on land they claim as theirs. We have submitted a written request to the Minister to send an inspection team to the region to verify the situation.
Andrew and Marcelo will be visiting Anta shortly to conduct a preliminary survey of the situation, and in doing so give a hand to local criollo in their struggle protect their rights. Later in the year we will have the additional help of Emma Parkhouse, a geography student who will be coming out from the UK as part of her study program. Though details need to be finalized, she will be engaged in gathering more detailed data on the impact of deforestation on the subsistence economy of Criollos in the region.
Bird watching
Andrew has recently met with Maurice Rumboll, one of Argentina’s leading ornithologists, seeking his assistance in designing a regional research project aimed at documenting the effect of forest loss across the Chaco. The idea is to document the presence and of species along extensive transects, both in forested and deforested areas, and especially along the transition zone between them. This will be the first time any research of this nature has been undertaken and should prove valuable in demonstrating the hitherto little understood effects that massive deforestation is having on the Chaco ecosystem. We aim to design a method which will enable members from local Churches across the region to help conduct the required surveys. If this works, it should help towards encouraging more churches to become engaged in conservation.
Items for prayer
• Thank God for the opportunity of meeting the new Minister for the Environment. Pray that this link may be strengthened
• Pray for ongoing work with preparing the formal proposal for the Land for Life initiative.
• Pray for creative thinking as we design the bird survey study.
• Pray for our links with Criollos in Anta, that these may grow, and that whilst they help us understand the situation on the ground in that region we might also help them in their struggle to hang on to their lands.