12
with respect to the records prior to the enactment of the law, going from 4 to 8 fires
per every 100,000 ha of forest. The possible intentionality of these catastrophic
events has been suggested, with the purpose of converting forests into agricultural
land, anticipating use restrictions and the possible implementation of a rigorous
control system. After a peak of 375,000 ha deforested in 2010, the deforestation rate
fell sharply, but still maintaining alarming values. Presumably, forest degradation,
even without deforestation, also continued at a sustained rate.
There is another national law with current effect on the restoration of degraded
forests and afforestation with native species: the Law of Investments for Cultivated
Forests N° 25,080 (promulgated in 1998 and extended in 2008 by Law N° 26,432
and in 2018 by Law N° 27,487). This law essentially subsidizes part of the costs of
industrial forestry for productive purposes. However, it also includes a section for
the enrichment of degraded native forests, which, in conjunction with Law 26,331,
represents an additional benefit for restoration, although with the ultimate purpose
of forest exploitation. With annual resolutions of the Ministry of Agriculture, the
amounts and procedures are updated for each region of the country, and for the different species and silvicultural methods, distinguishing afforestation with irrigation
or rainfed, and in blocks or enrichment strips. In recent years, some native species
have been explicitly included with a specific cost calculation. These are Araucaria
angustifolia, Austrocedrus chilensis, species of the Prosopis genus (mainly refers to
P. alba, P. nigra, P. flexuosa, and P. chilensis), and species of the Nothofagus genus
(mainly refers to N. alpina and N. obliqua). There are also some tax benefits granted
by the provinces for the promotion of afforestation (both with native and introduced
species). Also, some provinces are considering imposing the obligation to conserve
(or recover) a minimum surface of each rural property covered with forests or afforestation. In this sense, the Province of Córdoba has enacted Law N° 10,467 in 2017,
which requires agricultural properties to have a forest cover of at least 2% of its
surface.
Finally, the National Seed Institute (INASE) should be mentioned, which is the
institution that regulates the production and trade of seeds of forest species in
Argentina, through Resolution 256/99. This Institute keeps a record of the basic
propagation materials (seed sources) existing in Argentina, certifying the seed produced according to different defined types. There are still no restrictions on the trade
in seeds according to their provenance and place of use, although there is an increase
of 10% in the subsidy of law 25,080 if the material used is of certified origin and is
at least of the “selected” category, that is, seed from a genetic improvement program. Currently there are 34 seed production areas of native species registered in
INASE: 4 from Araucaria angustifolia, 3 from Austrocedrus chilensis, 1 from
Cedrela balansae, 3 from Nothofagus obliqua, 1 from Nothofagus pumilio, 8 from
Prosopis alba, 4 from Prosopis chilensis, 1 from the hybrid Prosopis chilensis X
Prosopis flexuosa, 2 from Prosopis flexuosa, 1 from Prosopis nigra, and 5 from
Prosopis sp. There are also one seed stand of N. alpina and three of P. alba (https://
www.argentina.gob.ar/sites/default/files/inase_guia_forestal.pdf).
M. J. Pastorino
with respect to the records prior to the enactment of the law, going from 4 to 8 fires
per every 100,000 ha of forest. The possible intentionality of these catastrophic
events has been suggested, with the purpose of converting forests into agricultural
land, anticipating use restrictions and the possible implementation of a rigorous
control system. After a peak of 375,000 ha deforested in 2010, the deforestation rate
fell sharply, but still maintaining alarming values. Presumably, forest degradation,
even without deforestation, also continued at a sustained rate.
There is another national law with current effect on the restoration of degraded
forests and afforestation with native species: the Law of Investments for Cultivated
Forests N° 25,080 (promulgated in 1998 and extended in 2008 by Law N° 26,432
and in 2018 by Law N° 27,487). This law essentially subsidizes part of the costs of
industrial forestry for productive purposes. However, it also includes a section for
the enrichment of degraded native forests, which, in conjunction with Law 26,331,
represents an additional benefit for restoration, although with the ultimate purpose
of forest exploitation. With annual resolutions of the Ministry of Agriculture, the
amounts and procedures are updated for each region of the country, and for the different species and silvicultural methods, distinguishing afforestation with irrigation
or rainfed, and in blocks or enrichment strips. In recent years, some native species
have been explicitly included with a specific cost calculation. These are Araucaria
angustifolia, Austrocedrus chilensis, species of the Prosopis genus (mainly refers to
P. alba, P. nigra, P. flexuosa, and P. chilensis), and species of the Nothofagus genus
(mainly refers to N. alpina and N. obliqua). There are also some tax benefits granted
by the provinces for the promotion of afforestation (both with native and introduced
species). Also, some provinces are considering imposing the obligation to conserve
(or recover) a minimum surface of each rural property covered with forests or afforestation. In this sense, the Province of Córdoba has enacted Law N° 10,467 in 2017,
which requires agricultural properties to have a forest cover of at least 2% of its
surface.
Finally, the National Seed Institute (INASE) should be mentioned, which is the
institution that regulates the production and trade of seeds of forest species in
Argentina, through Resolution 256/99. This Institute keeps a record of the basic
propagation materials (seed sources) existing in Argentina, certifying the seed produced according to different defined types. There are still no restrictions on the trade
in seeds according to their provenance and place of use, although there is an increase
of 10% in the subsidy of law 25,080 if the material used is of certified origin and is
at least of the “selected” category, that is, seed from a genetic improvement program. Currently there are 34 seed production areas of native species registered in
INASE: 4 from Araucaria angustifolia, 3 from Austrocedrus chilensis, 1 from
Cedrela balansae, 3 from Nothofagus obliqua, 1 from Nothofagus pumilio, 8 from
Prosopis alba, 4 from Prosopis chilensis, 1 from the hybrid Prosopis chilensis X
Prosopis flexuosa, 2 from Prosopis flexuosa, 1 from Prosopis nigra, and 5 from
Prosopis sp. There are also one seed stand of N. alpina and three of P. alba (https://
www.argentina.gob.ar/sites/default/files/inase_guia_forestal.pdf).
M. J. Pastorino