ARGENTINA
'In the Footsteps
of the Jaguar'
A pioneering new project has been launched this year for the protection of the remaining Yungas rainforest in Argentina and one of its most important inhabitants, the jaguar. It is the first project of this kind anywhere in the world, with a similar one having just been set up in Brazil.
© Greenpeace/Davis
Why the Yungas is worth saving. The Yungas rainforest, aso known as the clouded rainforest or Mountain rainforest, stretches across as far as Venezuela, along the Andes until it reaches northern Argentina. It forms one of the most diverse ecosystems in Argentina, home to over 60 per cent of all bird species in Argentina.
The Yungas is also home to one of the animal kingdom's most magnificent predators' the jaguar.
How much forest can be saved? Only 10 per cent of the Yungas forest remains intact today.
Greenpeace is fighting to protect the area of forest which connects the two National parks (80 per cent of the area) from the threats of Dam construction, clear-cut logging and gas and oil pipeline development, which would all contribute to the destruction of the rainforest. This area which connects the two parks is known as the "Biological Corridor".
Greenpeace is calling for the practice of sustainable logging in the area and related activities, to ensure the sustainable livelihoods of the aboriginal people, the Kolla, still living there. The Kolla people are still fighting to gain official recognition for their land.
The Jaguar project. The majestic image of the jaguar is awe-inspiring. It is considered by most scientists as an umbrella species, an indicator of the balance of the area's natural ecosystem. Its livelihood is dependent on the survival of the Yungas forest. Ensuring the protection of the forest is therefore paramount.
The aim of the project is to monitor the behaviour patterns and distribution of the jaguar in the wild, identifying specifically its exact position, movements, body temperature, body weight and measurements through a satellite tracking system. Satellite transmitters are attached to a collar that is fitted around the jaguar's neck. This tracking device will also provide more reliable information on the numbers of jaguars inhabiting the Yungas forest.
Through direct participation in the project, the Kolla people themselves will also benefit from an improved understanding of the behaviour of the jaguars and will be able to adapt their lifestyles accordingly to live more harmoniously with the jaguars and the forest.
Visit Greenpeace Argentina for more information about the Yugas Rainforest.
The Tractebel Gaspipe
The first major logging activities to threaten the Biological Corridor of the Yungas forest occurred in 1997, but fortunately through hard campaigning, Greenpeace successfully prevented the illegal logging operations from going ahead.
Two years later Greenpeace challenged the Belgium energy company Tractebel to withdraw plans to build a gas pipeline through the Yungas Biological Corridor. A leader of the Kolla people also went to Belgium to attend Tractebel's Annual Shareholders Meeting in hope of reversing the decision.
Despite many months of hard campaigning the pipeline was nevertheless constructed as planned, but through the joint efforts of Greenpeace and the Kolla people, Tractebel consented to avoid building through areas of land with cemetaries and houses, as well as agreeing to pay compensation for the loss of part of the Kolla's land. The World Wildlife Fund negotiated a purchase of 15,000 hectares of Yungas from Tractebel in order to create new protected forest areas. The area Greenpeace is trying protect extends up to 700,000 hectares