The **General Directorate of Natural Resources of La Pampa**, under the leadership of Carlos Bonnemezón and dependent on the Ministry of Production, fined the owners of a field in the Loventué department with a **fine of $1,874,182.40 for the clearing of 6.5 hectares** of native forest [without authorization](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/chaco-detectaron-desmontes-ilegales-en-tres-predios-y-secuestraron-maquinaria/).
The recently officialized resolution states that the clearing **was done with uprooting in an unregistered property**. The owners, a man and a woman, were offered a payment plan in five monthly installments of $374,836.48, due on the 10th of each month between January and May 2025. Payment must be credited to the General Directorate of Natural Resources and allocated to the Fund for the Enrichment, Conservation, and Development of Forests.
The agency warned that failure to make payments will result in the installment plan expiring, allowing the fiscal enforcement of the debt. Additionally, **the responsible parties have a period of 10 business days**, starting from the eighth day after the last notification, to pay the first installment.
Likewise, the owners were required to submit an **Ecological Restoration Program** within 45 consecutive days after the last notification, aiming to repair the environmental damage caused. In case of non-compliance, additional sanctions will be applied, and they will not be able to access Forest Guides or Transit Vouchers. These measures seek to reinforce the commitment to the **conservation of the environment** and ensure the sustainable management of natural resources in the region.
## The issue of deforestation
According to authorities, illegal deforestation is considered the [clearing carried out without authorization](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/polemica-por-el-nuevo-ordenamiento-territorial-de-salta-habilita-el-desmonte-de-700-mil-hectareas/), a type of activity that involves the mechanical manipulation of the soil to extract plant material and **transform virgin soil into exploitable land for agriculture, livestock, and forestry**.
In this sense, the clearing of native forest in La Pampa was not an isolated case, as the environmental organization Greenpeace previously reported illegal clearing on a ranch in Chaco, bordering the Copo National Park. This complaint was made after verifying that **over 1,800 hectares of forests were illegally cleared** and that the location of the clearing endangered the National Park.
## What are the consequences of deforestation?
According to Noemí Cruz, coordinator of the Forests campaign at Greenpeace Argentina, **deforestation can pose significant health risks to both humans and the environment**. Cruz explained that this practice can lead to more diseases, floods, eviction of peasant and indigenous communities, and even the extinction of endangered species, not to mention exacerbating the effects of climate change.
Moreover, **clearing land for livestock and crops is one of the main sources of massive greenhouse gas emissions**, representing a quarter of all emissions worldwide.
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