Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 4 • Number 16 • 10th September 2004
Expansion of Soy Bean Cultivation Threatens Environment - Report
Discuss this articleShare your views with other visitors, and read what they have to say
The expansion of soybean cultivation threatens to destroy almost 22 million hectares of forest and savannah in South America by 2020, a WWF study reports. The high demand for soybeans in the EU and China — where soybeans are used to feed pigs, chickens and cattle — has nearly doubled production in the past 10 years in countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. This expansion further increases the threat to the Atlantic Forest in South Brazil, which nearly disappeared in the 1970s and ’80s. Also threatened are millions of hectares of Argentine’s Chaco and Brazil’s Cerrado savannahs as they are quickly converted into soy plantations. WWF expects the demand for soy to increase by 60 percent in the next 20 years, which would mean the destruction of an additional 16 million hectares of savannah and 6 million hectares of tropical forest. The report suggests that this expansion could be reduced to 3.7 million hectares by growing soy on existing pastures and alternating soybean cultivation with cattle ranching, stressing that for such an initiative to work, soy producers, investors, buyers and regulators should support, adopt and promote more sustainable practices.
“Soy Boom: Doom or Boon for South America’s Forests and Savannah,” WWF, 3 September 2004; “South American Soya Explosion Threatens Forests,” REUTERS, 6 September 2004.
Add a comment
Enter your details and a comment below, then click Submit Comment. We’ll review and publish the best comments.