The dramatic expansion of cropland that began in Argentina in the late 1990s, fueled by the introduction of genetically altered soy, prompted Congress in 2007 to enact a landmark law to limit clearing of native forests. But five years later, the government has acknowledged what environmental groups have long complained: the legislation has done little to restrain the relentless destruction of Argentine forests. An Argentine Environment Secretariat report says that in the four years following the law’s enactment (2008-11), more than a million hectares (2.47 million acres) of forestland have been cleared in the eight northern provinces where 85% of Argentina’s existing native forest is located. The woodlands of those provinces—Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Salta, San Luis, Catamarca, Formosa, Tucumán and Misiones—had long... [Log in to read more]