¿Por qué el
Gran Chaco?
Why the Gran Chaco Region?
- It is an ecoregion that is distributed over a million square kilometers amongst Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Brazil
- 62% of this region is located on Argentine territory
- The area is one of the last great strongholds of biodiversity left in the world
- It is home to the second largest forest in Latin America after the Amazon
- It is an ancient territory where more than 600 indigenous communities from over 20 different ethnic groups coexist
- Thousands of peasant families related to small producers inhabit the region developing various productive activities
The Gran Chaco is an ecoregion that is distributed over more than one million square kilometers of Argentina (62%), Paraguay (25%), Bolivia (12%) and Brazil (1%). It has a great environmental diversity, being one of the main forested regions of South America together with the Amazon and the Cerrado. The Gran Chaco is a high value site for biological diversity on a global scale, with a wide variety of native environments and endemic species.
In Argentina, the Chaco Region is the largest forest area in the country, containing around 70% of the forested areas where important cities such as Santiago del Estero and Resistencia, among many others, are located and in turn inhabited by more than three thousand communities of peasants belonging to native cultures and criollos.
It is also a very active centerpiece in the origination of grains, meats, fibers, and biofuels. Therefore, the agricultural sector is one of the main economic activities in the region. Between 2001 and 2021 the crop and pasture areas increased by 2 million hectares.
