Impacts of agricultural expansion on the resource availability of forest-dependent Indigenous communities in the Dry Chaco.

Abstract

Agricultural expansion into tropical and subtropical forests threatens forest-dependent communities by disrupting their access to vital resources. We explored these impacts for over 400 Indigenous communities in the Argentine Dry Chaco, a deforestation hotspot due to agricultural expansion. Using participatory mapping, we estimated resource collection footprints for plants and animals, and integrated these with deforestation data mapped from satellite images to show that by 2021, communities had lost on average 21% of their forests. An ecosystem services supply index revealed that 33% of communities saw 10-35% reductions in resource availability in 2001-2021. We also found substantial increase in access restrictions (42%), and communities had to travel over 10 km further to reach natural water sources. These findings highlight the severe consequences of agricultural expansion on Indigenous communities in the Chaco and likely many other dry forest regions, emphasizing the need for policies to prevent ecological marginalization of forest-dependent communities.