Paraguay: Forest fires fueled by rising demand for cannabis

Cannabis is illegal in Paraguay, though possession of less than 10 grams has been decriminalized since 1988; however, the country is one of the world’s largest producers of Cannabis, the second-largest producer in Latin America, after Mexico. Paraguay is thus the main source of cannabis for Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile, and produces 5,900 metric tons of cannabis per year, according to a report from 2008.

This large-scale illegal logging now appears to be the cause of the wildfires that have broken out across the country in recent weeks. More than 5,000 separate fires were recorded on October 1. While a prolonged period of drought and dry weather has allowed the fires to spread virtually unchecked, a local report suggests that armed groups may have started many of them in order to clear space for cannabis plantations.

As early as September, Guyra Paraguay, a nongovernmental organization that monitors forest fires, had declared that all of them had been deliberately set off, «for agricultural purposes or to grow marijuana.».

On October 2, firefighters from Caazapá National Park went directly to accused cannabis traffickers for starting a fire there.

On October 13, the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development declared that armed men linked to cannabis cultivation in Caazapá National Park had prevented firefighters from containing the fires in the region.

The same trend was observed in previous years. In October 2019, a volunteer fire chief from the municipality of Villarrica, located near Caazapá, suggested that the fires may have been caused by clearing land for cannabis cultivation.

There are reportedly at least 2,350 hectares of cannabis plantations in the Mbaracayú, San Rafael, Morombí, and Caazapá natural parks, all of which are part of the Atlantic Forest of Paraná.

With the coronavirus pandemic having caused a surge in demand for cannabis, the number of plantations is likely to increase, particularly in the northeastern region of the country, where 93% of the cannabis plantations are concentrated. In addition to wildfires, these vast areas have suffered significant environmental degradation in recent years.