Paraguay's no-go zone

Melanie Kramers

13 July 2011

Last week Paraguay made the news when the Natural History Museum cancelled its expedition to the country's vast dry forest. It followed concerns about scientists intruding on the uncontacted tribe who call the northern Chaco territory home.

After visiting Paraguay on a fact-finding trip in March I've been looking out for stories about this often overlooked country. A plucky performance in last year's football World Cup aside, the South American nation rarely hits headlines over here.

It's not widely known that ranching and soy farming are also threatening the great wilderness and the people and animals that live there. On our visit, from a small plane, I was shocked to see huge chunks hacked out of the natural landscape.

And deforestation is getting worse - a campaigner colleague told me a million hectares has been razed by farmers in the past four years. You can see more pictures of our trip here.

Forest is being lost to grow soy - much of which goes to feed animals in European factory farms. That's why in the UK we're campaigning to reduce demand and for planet-friendly alternative feeds.

And we're working with Friends of the Earth Paraguay to help local communities report things like illegal logging and dangerous pesticide use. We're also helping them find more sustainable ways of using their land so they can make a decent living.

You can help us keep up this important work - and make sure Paraguay and its people are not forgotten.

Melanie Kramers, Communications & Media team