24.1
Published onIn Argentina, native forests are classified into three conservation categories—I (red), II (yellow), and III (green)—under Law No. 26,331 and corresponding provincial regulations. Category I represents areas of very high conservation value that must not be converted; Category II allows limited uses such as sustainable tourism and harvesting; and Category III permits partial or total conversion, always within the law’s criteria. This classification enables territorial planning policies by defining the activities allowed in each zone. Every province must carry out a Native Forest Territorial Zoning (OTBN) based on Environmental Sustainability Criteria (CSA).
Source: National Undersecretariat for Environment.
Funding
Regarding the quantitative information, statistical data published by the Environmental Information Centre (CIAM), under the Secretariat of Environment, were reviewed. These data indicate that 47 million hectares of native forest are currently declared, compared with the 53 million hectares reported in the 2023 implementation report for Law No. 26,331. CIAM provides measurements of forest area by conservation category, which have now been updated to 2024. The report shows that, between 2021 and 2024, a total of 395,917 hectares of Category I and II forest were lost across several provinces. The provinces with the greatest losses were Chaco, Córdoba, Entre Ríos, La Rioja, Río Negro, San Luis and Santiago del Estero.
This source does not report data explicitly classified as deforestation trends. Therefore, native forest area by conservation category is used as an indicator, although it should be noted that this also includes forest loss caused by other factors, such as wildfires.
https://ciam.ambiente.gob.ar/repositorio.php?tid=5
FIRST ANALYSIS OF THIS OBJECTIVE CONDUCTED IN AUGUST 2025
Category
Early progress
Detail
Instruments and actions are under way, but recent quantitative evidence remains insufficient to verify zero deforestation in Categories I and II, corresponding to the red and yellow conservation categories. As of May 2025, some provinces showed progress, although several high-impact jurisdictions had not published updated or standardised information.
At the national level, frameworks and instruments associated with Law No. 26,331 were strengthened, including guidelines for Comprehensive Community Plans, Forest Management with Integrated Livestock, watershed-scale forest management and wildfire prevention; programmes such as Women Producers of Native Forests, +Science +Forests and the National Native Forest Protection Programme; and the National Native Forest Monitoring System, which includes satellite monitoring, early warning, inventory, statistics and SACVeFor. However, public statistics are subject to delays and are reported at a level of aggregation that does not allow annual losses in Categories I and II to be distinguished and consolidated by province. The absence of recent and comparable data limits verification of compliance. Given the combination of an established institutional framework and results that cannot yet be demonstrated, the assigned category is “Early progress”.