13
1.6 International Commitments of Argentina, National Plan
for the Restoration of Native Forests, and Certification
of Sustainable Management of Forests and Plantations
Argentina is a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto protocol in which it participates through the
Clean Development Mechanism. In 2016, through Law N° 27,270, the National
State approved the subscription of Argentina to the Paris Agreement (COP21), committing not to exceed the net emission of 483 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO 2 eq) in the year 2030 (advancing even to a conditional commitment of
369 MtCO 2 eq), which represents a reduction of 18.5% of the emissions projected
for that date. This goal involves mitigation measures that include the REDD + strategy, that is, avoidance of deforestation and degradation of native forests, and afforestation, reforestation, and restoration of degraded forest ecosystems. It has been
estimated that in 2014, 15.6% (57.4 MtCO 2 eq) of the total emission of greenhouse
gases (GHG) in Argentina came from native forests, 89% of which were emitted by
the conversion from forests to pastures or agricultural crops (PANByC 2017).
Starting in 2017, the Argentine Ministry of Environment and Sustainable
Development (MAyDS) began to develop the National Action Plan on Forests and
Climate Change (PANByCC), which aims to reduce emissions and increase the
capture of GHGs related to the forestry sector. The capture of CO 2 through plantations can be faced with both native and exotic species. In this sense, fast-growing
exotic species (i.e., pines, eucalypts, poplars and willows) seem to be a convenient
alternative, since they have a higher CO 2 fixation rate. However, according to one of
the UNFCCC Cancun safeguards (COP16), this increase in fixation cannot be detrimental to natural forests, and therefore its replacement by more efficient carbon
fixation systems cannot be considered. On the other hand, Argentina is a state party
to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which forces it to attend to the conservation of native species and ecosystems. It is also one of the 12 member states of the
Montreal Process (MAGyP 2015), an international convention that sets criteria and
indicators for the sustainable management of forests, obviously restricting the conversion of natural forests to exotic plantations. Therefore, planting on forest land
should be considered through programs to restore or enrich the natural forest; and
mass afforestation with introduced species should be limited to agricultural areas.
Strategic operational axes defined by the PANByCC include avoided deforestation, sustainable management of native forests, and restoration of degraded forests.
Regarding this last axis, after the development of some pilot projects, in 2018 the
MAyDS launched the National Plan for the Restoration of Native Forests (MAyDS
2018b), calling in 2018 and 2019 for the open application of projects.
Most of the approved restoration projects (still ongoing) have proposed active
restoration strategies, that is, planting of foundational forest species from the
degraded ecosystems to be restored. This implies the choice of the genetic materials
1 Native Forests Claim for Breeding in Argentina: General Concepts and Their State
1.6 International Commitments of Argentina, National Plan
for the Restoration of Native Forests, and Certification
of Sustainable Management of Forests and Plantations
Argentina is a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto protocol in which it participates through the
Clean Development Mechanism. In 2016, through Law N° 27,270, the National
State approved the subscription of Argentina to the Paris Agreement (COP21), committing not to exceed the net emission of 483 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO 2 eq) in the year 2030 (advancing even to a conditional commitment of
369 MtCO 2 eq), which represents a reduction of 18.5% of the emissions projected
for that date. This goal involves mitigation measures that include the REDD + strategy, that is, avoidance of deforestation and degradation of native forests, and afforestation, reforestation, and restoration of degraded forest ecosystems. It has been
estimated that in 2014, 15.6% (57.4 MtCO 2 eq) of the total emission of greenhouse
gases (GHG) in Argentina came from native forests, 89% of which were emitted by
the conversion from forests to pastures or agricultural crops (PANByC 2017).
Starting in 2017, the Argentine Ministry of Environment and Sustainable
Development (MAyDS) began to develop the National Action Plan on Forests and
Climate Change (PANByCC), which aims to reduce emissions and increase the
capture of GHGs related to the forestry sector. The capture of CO 2 through plantations can be faced with both native and exotic species. In this sense, fast-growing
exotic species (i.e., pines, eucalypts, poplars and willows) seem to be a convenient
alternative, since they have a higher CO 2 fixation rate. However, according to one of
the UNFCCC Cancun safeguards (COP16), this increase in fixation cannot be detrimental to natural forests, and therefore its replacement by more efficient carbon
fixation systems cannot be considered. On the other hand, Argentina is a state party
to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which forces it to attend to the conservation of native species and ecosystems. It is also one of the 12 member states of the
Montreal Process (MAGyP 2015), an international convention that sets criteria and
indicators for the sustainable management of forests, obviously restricting the conversion of natural forests to exotic plantations. Therefore, planting on forest land
should be considered through programs to restore or enrich the natural forest; and
mass afforestation with introduced species should be limited to agricultural areas.
Strategic operational axes defined by the PANByCC include avoided deforestation, sustainable management of native forests, and restoration of degraded forests.
Regarding this last axis, after the development of some pilot projects, in 2018 the
MAyDS launched the National Plan for the Restoration of Native Forests (MAyDS
2018b), calling in 2018 and 2019 for the open application of projects.
Most of the approved restoration projects (still ongoing) have proposed active
restoration strategies, that is, planting of foundational forest species from the
degraded ecosystems to be restored. This implies the choice of the genetic materials
1 Native Forests Claim for Breeding in Argentina: General Concepts and Their State