“The Gold Red: development and crisis of the forest exploitation in “Gran Chaco”, Argentine (190-1950)”.

ZARRILLI ADRIAN GUSTAVO

Tesalonica, Grecia

Congreso; - International Conference on Forest and Woodland History. Woodland Cultures in Time and Space: tales from the Past, Messages for the Future,; 2007

University of Exeter/Aristoteles University, Thessaloniki, International Union of Forest Research

Between the end of the 19th century and beginnings of the 20th, Argentina had about 30% of its continental surface covered by woods. The demand of primary products from the native woods, which at that time caused the technification of cattle management, the increase in the agricultural surface, and, as a consequence, the expansion of the railway, brought about an important reduction of this forest surface. In addition to this, the consequent needs caused by the First World War, when our country became the main producer of tannin extract –the “red gold” of the world– should be taken into account. The geographical space over which the most intense forest exploitation in Argentina is developed consists of the region of the so-called Chaco-Pampean plain. This region extends across 60 million hectares (600,000 square km), and covers 22% of the continental surface of the country. It is its largest forest region. Argentinean Chaco involves ten provinces, extending across the totality of the Provinces of Formosa, Chaco and Santiago del Estero, and large areas of the North of Santa Fe and San Luis, East of Salta, Tucumán, Catamarca and La Rioja, and North and West of Córdoba. (see Map Nº 1) In the Argentinean North-East region, the Gran Chaco area, after experiencing barely positive results from a criollo cattle economy and the sugar cycle that was obliterated by the advance of other regions, the practice of exploiting its forest richness was rehearsed since the last quinquennium of the 19th century.[1] Even though Argentina was economically structured from the basis of agricultural production in the Pampa Húmeda region, forest activity has always been an important complement of the development produced by agricultural and cattle activities. The national demand for wood for the building industry and as combustible significantly increased since its growth took place in the middle of the 19th century, especially in the Pampean Region. This situation led to the extractive activity in the forest territories of the tropical and subtropical areas. To the domestic use of wood, the demand of the nascent industries, which progressively multiplied and became more complex, was added. The most emblematic case regarding excessive forest exploitation is the case of the red quebracho from the Chaquean Region[2]. Among the main reasons for the exploitation of the Chaquean red quebracho wood was the railway expansion. This, on the one hand, forced the consumption of this and other kinds of hard wood to make the crossties in such railways, to produce coal for moving the locomotives, and for a number of other uses. Another factor for the destruction of the quebracho areas in most of the Chaquean Park was the tannin extraction for leather tanning. [1] The region shows a great diversity of environments: a net predominance of large plains stands out; the South-West portion is occupied by sierras; large rivers cross it North-Southeasterly towards its confluence with the Paraguay-Paraná river; there are dry and flood zoned savannahs, marshes, wetlands, saltpeter beds, and, of course, a great extension and diversity of woods and bush beds. All this is translated into a high diversity of animal and vegetable species that make Chaco one of the international key areas as regards biodiversity conservation. [2] Red Quebracho (Schinopsis balansae): Large tree, it can be 25 meters tall, with a diameter of 1.25 meters. Its foliage is scraggly, with dark green leaves. Its trunk is generally straight and long, with a very cracked bright brown cortex. Its wood is very hard and heavy, of a bright red color due to its high tannin content.