Environmental policy challenges face scrutiny in Argentina and France

A study published in the journal Nature has highlighted environmental policy issues in the Chaco province of Argentina. The research indicates that successive administrations between 2009 and 2024 implemented strategies to effectively legalize previously illegal deforestation. Specifically, a 2024 update to the Native Forest Land Use Planning (OTBN) excluded 270,000 hectares that were illegally cleared, while reducing protection for another 220,000 hectares of high conservation value.

In France, the Council of State has annulled a government decree intended to facilitate a massive reforestation program. The original plan aimed to plant or renew 1 billion trees by 2032 to combat climate change impacts such as droughts, parasites, and wildfires. The court's decision was based on the finding that the decree regulating public aid should have undergone an environmental consultation, following a legal challenge by the association Canopée.