Clearings for cattle grazing in Paraguay's Chaco.
The dry tropical forests of the Gran Chaco are disappearing faster than any other forests on earth, threatening endemic species and one of the last indigenous peoples living in isolation from industrialised society.
A number of commodities traded worldwide are driving this destruction. While the role of beef and soya in fuelling deforestation is well known, a new investigation by the British NGO Earthsight has fixed the spotlight on a previously unexamined protagonist: charcoal. Published on 6 July, Earthsight’s report charts the connections between forest clearances in the Paraguayan Chaco and supermarkets in the EU including Lidl, Aldi and Carrefour.
