Paraguay's Glasgow pledge "a mockery," says British environmentalist website

[Judi Lynn]

Friday, November 5th 2021 - 18:24 UTC

A leading British website dedicated to environmental issues has denounced Friday that Paraguay's allegiance to Glasgow's climate goals did not match President Mario Abdo's government policies regarding emissions and that the South American country intends to keep allowing deforestation.

According to www.earthsight.org.uk, “Paraguay’s climate pledges mask plans to green light rising deforestation until 2030.” The website also labeled Paraguay as “one of the world’s worst countries for tropical deforestation” and insisted its change of heart at Glasgow was purely due to “public criticism.”

“Paraguay has persistently failed to stamp down on industrial clearance of the protected forests of an ‘uncontacted’ indigenous group for cattle ranching. Earthsight’s research has revealed how leather from cattle reared there has been making its way into luxury cars, including those made by BMW and Jaguar Land Rover,” the publication went on.

“Pledges by Paraguay to slash greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and support new initiatives to protect biodiversity ring hollow as its government looks willing to accept emissions from deforestation will continue to rise until at least 2030,” Earthsight insisted, because “Paraguay’s government is signalling to industry and the international community that it is acceptable for its already world-high deforestation rates to keep rising.” which “makes a mockery of its pledges to reduce climate emissions and protect biodiversity.”

More:
https://en.mercopress.com/2021/11/05/paraguay-s-glasgow-pledge-a-mockery-says-british-environmentalist-website

[Judi Lynn]

1. Illegal Deforestation in Paraguay Linked to Luxury Automakers

By Laurel SutherlandPublished on 10/22/2021 at 10:52 AM

The forests of the Gran Chaco in Paraguay continue to be the target of illegal deforestation, prompting one of the world’s last uncontacted Indigenous nations to reportedly reach out to express their concern over the continued encroachment by outsiders.

In September 2020, an investigation by London-based NGO Earthsight exposed the link between the illegal clearances inside PNCAT, a protected territory that’s home to the Ayoreo Totobiegosode people, for cattle ranching, and the leather used by luxury carmakers such as BMW and Jaguar Land Rover.

The report revealed that two ranches within PNCAT — Caucasian SA, and a farm belonging to an associate of Cooperativa Chortitzer — were found to have illegally cleared more than 2,700 and 500 hectares respectively (6,700 and 1,200 acres) between 2018 and 2019.

After the report was made public, Earthsight, along with local and international NGOs, called on Paraguayan authorities to investigate the cases of illegal deforestation at the Caucasian and Chortitzer farms, as well as whether the more than 200 fires at Caucasian in 2020 were in breach of the law.

More:
https://nowthisnews.com/earth/illegal-deforestation-in-paraguay-linked-to-luxury-automakers