Balancing threats and opportunities: South America's hidden biome

As the world gears up for the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, all eyes are rightly on the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. But not too far from the Amazon lies another critical biome and agricultural powerhouse with significant untapped potential, which you’ve probably never heard of.

Spanning more than 100 million hectares across Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil, the Gran Chaco is bigger than France and Germany combined and claims the title of South America’s second-largest forest after the Amazon.

It is a region rich with life, home to 5.6 million Indigenous people, as well as 3,400 plant species, 500 bird species and over 200 reptile and amphibian species, making it one of the world’s most biodiverse biomes and a critical carbon sink.

Over the past few decades, the Gran Chaco has become an agricultural hub and a key part of the region’s economy. Soybean cultivation has expanded significantly, with Argentina increasing the production area by 30% between 2001 and 2022 and Paraguay achieving a 15-fold increase from 2012 to 2022, as per analysis of data from Argentina's Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and Paraguay's National Institute of Statistics.

Livestock production has also surged, particularly in Paraguay, where 67.4% of beef exports originate from the Gran Chaco. In Argentina, the region is now home to 33% of the national cattle stock.

However, this agricultural expansion has come with an environmental cost, with around 35,000 hectares lost every month and millions of additional hectares of native vegetation projected to be cleared by 2030 to make way for farmland.

Land clearing and deforestation have left the region vulnerable to climate change, which has already caused a significant economic toll through prolonged droughts, floods, heatwaves and wildfires that disrupt agricultural production.

Argentina suffered $2.67 billion in export losses due to drought in 2022, and wildfires in Paraguay in 2019 caused around $20.9 million in material losses.

The region’s story is not just one of loss, however. Like the Cerrado biome in Brazil, the Gran Chaco is a place where forest conservation and agricultural production can complement one another.

According to a new report by the World Economic Forum’s Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) and REVER – The Gran Chaco: Pathways Towards a Sustainable Future – regenerative agriculture, improved traceability, jurisdictional approaches to land-use planning and management and nature-based finance models could generate economic growth while future-proofing the region’s rich natural resources.

As the report outlines, the solutions already exist – we just need to get the incentives and governance right.

Strong regulatory frameworks will be essential and we also need to see robust, collaborative and innovative action from policymakers to implement these.

This includes enforcing environmental laws to curb deforestation, enhancing technical and monitoring capacities, fostering collaboration between governments, businesses and local communities and expanding financial incentives such as tax concessions and conservation finance.

The region can meet the growing demand for food without causing further environmental degradation through nature-friendly approaches like regenerative agriculture and integrated crop-livestock-forestry management – optimizing land use to benefit the environment.

In Argentina, these approaches are already having a positive impact through pilot projects, such as Solidaridad, TFA and the Netherlands’ three-year project to help smallholder farmers implement regenerative production models and integrate trees and grazing livestock on the same land. What is now needed is long-term financial support to help these initiatives continue and scale.

Programmes such as REDD+ can be used to support conservation in Gran Chaco countries by compensating efforts to reduce deforestation and enhance carbon capture.

The Chaco Vivo project – one of Paraguay’s largest REDD+ projects – is demonstrating the impact that this tool can have, protecting 187,000 hectares of high-value conservation areas in the Gran Chaco.

Technology has revolutionized agriculture over the past few years, with new traceability tools and satellite monitoring improving our understanding of commodity-driven deforestation.

This includes Argentina’s VISEC platform, which tracks soy and beef commodities – helping ensure compliance with national and international regulations, including the upcoming European Union Deforestation Regulation.

Tourism can boost income for agricultural and livestock producers while supporting conservation efforts. For example, the ProYungas Foundation’s protected productive landscapes project integrates protected areas with privately managed productive lands.

If encouraged by innovative finance, producers could establish private nature reserves on portions of their properties. Together with state-protected zones, these areas could form ecotourism trails that promote biodiversity, protect wildlife and generate long-term, sustainable employment opportunities.

These solutions will only work if they are underpinned by collaboration at all levels: between businesses, governments, financial institutions, civil society and other key decision makers; and between countries.

The Gran Chaco spans four countries, each with its unique governance structures, policies and priorities. Close collaboration between those countries is essential to pursue successful sustainable development.

Successful initiatives such as Redes Chaco and MapBiomas Chaco provide a model for establishing a unified pan-Chaco framework that respects the region’s socio-environmental diversity while maximizing shared opportunities.

COP30 provides a landmark opportunity for integrating local and regional conservation efforts with global frameworks. The global spotlight will be on governments and others who want to reinforce their commitment to sustainable development and conservation through multilateral funding organizations.

Amid rising demand for food and commodities, the Gran Chaco represents an unrivalled opportunity to become a global model for reconciling production with environmental stewardship. By embracing this transition, Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay can position the Gran Chaco as a leader in green economic development.