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Despite much deforestation in the past, the northwestern Argentinean province of Salta still has more than 6 million hectares of native forests. Land use conversion for agriculture is threatening these forests and the survival of indigenous populations and small-scale farmers. In November 2007, Argentina’s National Congress passed a law to regulate the management and conservation of native forests. This “Forest Law” required provincial governments to implement comprehensive and participatory Land Use Planning Processes (LUPPs). In this article, we describe and analyze, within a political ecology framework, the LUPP carried out in Salta. We focus on the conflicts derived from the different visions of development held by the interest groups involved, and we highlight some contradictions between their discourses and practices. We argue that “development” or “progress,” understood as a process of wealth and power accumulation linked to the possession of land and the production of agricultural commodities, was the leading ideology of political and economic elites in Salta during the LUPP. This ideology, and the established institutional power system behind it, was challenged when the National Supreme Court of Justice decided to suspend logging and deforestation activities on land claimed by marginalized ethnic and socioeconomic groups. We assess the implications of this ruling for the conservation of native forests and local livelihoods. As the final outcome of this case is still uncertain, a number of possible scenarios are presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Land-use change (LUC) driven by commodity agriculture over the last 20 years has been particularly extensive in the Dry Chaco region of Argentina, which surpassed the Amazon during that time to become one of the top three global deforestation hotspots. Large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) have been cited as a key catalyst of deforestation and related LUC in commodity frontier expansion. However, it is unclear whether contemporary LSLAs that affected the Dry Chaco and other agricultural commodity frontiers globally differed in their mechanisms of LUC from conventional agricultural expansion processes. The diversity of domestic and foreign investors, commodity crops, and LUC dynamics observable in contemporary LSLAs in Argentina's Dry Chaco provide a focused lens, or "case set," through which to consider commodity frontier dynamics in the Salta Province since 2000. We integrated remote sensing analysis and classification of the timing and location of LUC within the boundaries of LSLA and non-LSLA agricultural parcels with survival analysis to draw conclusions about the dynamics of LSLA establishment (i.e., purchase/transfer of ownership/ title change) and LUC associated with production operations. Regionally, spatio-temporal patterns of agricultural expansion into increasingly marginal land were consistent between LSLA and non-LSLA parcels. However, parcel-based analysis revealed differing responsiveness to commodity prices and land-use constraints imposed by the National Forest Law, which translated into diverging LUC trajectories among LSLA and non-LSLA parcels. In particular, LUC on LSLA parcels was significantly slowed by Forest Law constraints, but continued on non-LSLA parcels and a small number of "recategorized" and/or illegally deforested LSLA parcels. Our findings demonstrate the importance of moving beyond large-scale, aggregate spatial assessments of LSLA outcomes that aim to inform policy yet 'black box" actors. Actor heterogeneity must be explicitly accounted for as part of the causal mechanisms that influence land acquisition and lead to differing LUC trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Argentina is a developing Latin American nation that has an aim of achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals for potable water supplies. Their current regulations however, limit the continued development of improved potable water quality and infrastructure from a microbiological viewpoint. This is since the current regulations are focused solely to pathogenic Eschericia coli ( E. coli ), Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( P. aeruginosa ) and fecal indicators. Regions of lower socioeconomic status such as peri-urban areas are particularly at risk due to lessened financial and political ability to influence their environmental quality and infrastructure needs. Therefore, a combined microbiological sampling, analysis and quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) modeling effort were engaged for a peri-urban area of Salta Argentina. Drinking water samples from home taps were analyzed and a QMRA model was developed, results of which were compared against a general 1:10,000 risk level for lack of a current Argentinian standard. This QMRA model was able to demonstrate that the current regulations were being achieved for E. coli but were less than acceptable for P. aeruginosa in some instances. Appropriate health protections are far from acceptable for Giardia for almost all water sources. Untreated water sources were sampled and analyzed then QMRA modeled as well, since a significant number of the community (∼9%) still use them for potable water supplies. For untreated water E. coli risks were near 1:10,000, however, P. aeruginosa and Giardia risks failed to be acceptable in almost all instances. The QMRA model and microbiological analyses demonstrate the need for improved regulatory efforts for the peri-urban area along with improved investment in their water infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Carbon stocks were assessed in three archetypal forest ecosystems in the province of Salta, Argentina, namely Yungas, Chaco, and shrublands located around Chaco. Over a total area of about 7000 m2, detailed measurements of woody biomass were conducted using structural information such as diameter at breast height (dbh), total height, and stem height. At the same time, the wet weight of herbaceous, shrubs, and litter was registered within that area. Soil samples were also collected to determine parameters such as bulk density and organic carbon. The above-ground tree biomass (AGB) was quantified by two non-destructive methods. This biomass was expressed from each reservoir studied in t.ha−1 and the carbon content was then calculated using a factor of 0.5. Carbon stocks in the ecosystems studied were 162, 92, and 48tC.ha−1 for Yungas, Chaco, and shrublands, respectively. Our results show that carbon is concentrated in the soil or as AGB. The latter is the most important reservoir in Yungas, while the soil plays this role in the other two, drier environments. In the province of Salta, native forests play a significant role in the mitigation of greenhouse gases. Our results reveal the magnitude of carbon stocks in some characteristic regional native forests, and estimate their carbon sequestration potential. These results could be useful to inform policy makers in charge of negotiations related to conservation and sustainable management of native forests, and be a relevant input for the formulation of more comprehensive land use planning processes in the region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The idea that agricultural production and environmental conservation are almost incompatible has divided nature protectionists, advocates for indigenous peoples, and agricultural producers. Discourses seem to cluster along strong, usually dichotomous alternatives such as "production versus conservation". This apparently hegemonic "common sense" is generally promoted by enviromental non-governmental organizations and groups of large-scale agricultural producers, and it is constantly reproduced and exacerbated by the media, despite its negative consequences for social consensus and policy making. We present here results of a study in an expanding agricultural frontier in northern Argentina in which we identified and described social perspectives on deforestation, land use change, and economic development. Following an empirically based, quali-quantitative approach (Q methodology), we found that actual social perspectives did not conform to a simplistic production versus conservation dichotomy. Our case study suggests that some environmental governance processes may consolidate dichotomous debates that favor the interests of powerful groups of stakeholders. Knowledge on social perspectives could help understand complex social-environmental issues and help policy makers take decisions in the direction of more sustainable and inclusive land use practices. • Four social perspectives on deforestation were identified in Salta, Argentina. • We followed an empirically based, quali-quantitative approach (Q methodology). • Social perspectives did not conform to a production-versus-conservation dichotomy. • Some environmental governance processes may consolidate simplistic debates. • Knowledge on social perspectives could help understand social-environmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]