Land Degradation in the Argentine Chaco: An assessment of regional land-use and rural livelihoods

Abstract

The Argentine Chaco, a semiarid ecoregion with rapidly expanding agricultural frontiers, is facing two critical, interlinked challenges: first, the accelerating land degradation, which is strongly related to land-use changes and intensive agricultural production, and secondly, the simultaneous territory degradation, leading to further marginalization and impoverishment of rural communities. In order to comprehensively address land degradation, it is necessary to gain a clear overview of prevailing land degradation processes, considering how they are embedded in the regional context of land-use and rural livelihoods. This research set out to contribute to this overview by following a qualitative case-study design, aimed at providing insights and evidence related to land degradation dynamics in the Argentine Chaco. Relevant information was gathered through multiple primary- and secondary data sources, leading to the integration of various forms of knowledge and insights in the data analysis based on constant comparison and data coding. By both exploring current processes and factors that contribute to land degradation dynamics, as well as explaining how these are related, the results of this research provide a comprehensive understanding of the regional context. The Argentine Chaco is characterized by a complex mosaic of land-use systems and remaining native forest patches, each exposed to the consequences of varying degrees of land-use intensity. Therefore, the land degradation dynamics are influenced in different temporal scales across the region, with some areas already indicating critical processes that will sooner or later lead to changes in the ecosystem that might be irreversible if not addressed adequately. While this does not only threaten the conservation chances of the Argentine Chaco ecoregion, it also threatens the sustainability of any agricultural production in the region. Rural livelihoods are endangered, as communities are increasingly displaced to marginal lands with limited natural resources and often face extreme poverty due to limited subsistence production possibilities or alternative income opportunities. Considering these land-use patterns in the context of land-use planning within the region, which has been found to not be efficient to limit degradation, there are various implications that the Argentine Chaco will experience continuous extensive land transformations. Resulting land degradation will progressively impact the functioning of ecosystems and with the decreasing capacities of ecosystems to provide essential services, the consequences of land degradation will become an increasingly pressing issue for global sustainability.