Greenpeace "jaguars"
prowl the forests of Argentina to stop destruction
and the expansion of genetically engineered
soya.
29/08/2005 — In Argentina precious forest
is being bulldozed at a rate of a soccer pitch
area every three minutes - all for soya crops
to feed pigs and chickens in Europe and China.
We are out to stop this destruction with the
Greenpeace Jaguar team.
Across South America the bulldozers of industrial
agriculture, dragging mammoth chains, are
destroying huge swathes of diverse ancient
forests. Indigenous peoples, and rare species
like jaguars, are being swept aside to make
space for huge, chemical intensive soya monocultures,
often planted with genetically engineered
soya.
Raising demand for soya for animal feed is
fuelling the destruction that is encouraged
by governments in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay,
in partnership with huge agricultural corporations
like Monsanto.
An aerial view of burned forest land from
the Greenpeace "Jaguar" helicopter.
The forest, home to rare jaguars and indeginous
peoples is being bulldozed to plant soya.
Left unopposed, this means that many huge
forests will disappear in the next few years.
We are taking action to stop this destruction
and make a stand for the indigenous people
and rare species of the forest. Last years
the Greenpeace jaguars first appeared on the
scene to block the bulldozers and rally thousands
of people to pressure the Argentinian government
to halt the destruction. Because the government
failed to act against the destruction the
jaguar team are back this year, now with a
helicopter to spot the bulldozers in the difficult
terrain.
"Companies are failing to act responsibly,
and the Argentinian Government stands by while
rampant deforestation continues," said
Emiliano Ezcurra, Greenpeace Argentina forests
campaigner. "We're here to place ourselves
between bulldozers and trees to stop the destruction
of these last remaining ancient forests".
Road to ruin
The social consequences are just as devastating;
government supported GE Soya landlords forcibly
evict small farmers and indigenous communities
from their land. All the trees knocked down
by bulldozers are discarded onto huge piles,
often kilometres long, and set alight. The
cleared land can only support the GE soya
monoculture for a few years before the soil
nutrients disappear. The options then are
to use more chemical fertilizers or just leave
the land to become a desert and move on to
clear more forest. This cycle contributes
to climate change, biodiversity loss and human
rights violations.
The money earned by these countries from
soya exports won't last for long. But the
priceless forest ecosystem and the unique
indigenous people will be gone forever.
