Paraguay’s Senate along with environmental organizations, Catholic Church groups, indigenous communities and thousands of members of the general public have lined up against a decree by President Horacio Cartes that they say will spur runaway deforestation. Most recently, protestors in November and December drove convoys of cars and trucks through Asunción in a rolling demonstration of their displeasure. Meanwhile, civil-society groups reported they had gathered 15,000 signatures for a petition calling on the government to reverse the decree, which the government is promoting as a market-based means to bolster land conservation. The focus of debate is Paraguay’s sparsely populated Western Region, which accounts for 61% of the nation’s land area and is home to Paraguay’s portion of the Gran Chaco, an arid expanse... [Log in to read more]