Not all Urgencies are the Same: the temporal entanglements of Deforestation in El Impenetrable dry forest.

Abstract (English)

Deep in the heart of the Gran Chaco—the second-largest terrestrial ecosystem in Latin America—lies El Impenetrable, a 40,000 km² tapestry of native forest nestled in the northwest of Chaco Province, Argentina. Its name conjures images of tangled vegetation, rugged soils, and untamed wilderness, shaping a lasting narrative of hardship and resilience.
Over the past three decades, El Impenetrable has increasingly drawn the world’s attention, not merely for the fierce beauty of its biodiversity or the kaleidoscope of cultures inhabiting it, but for the slow, relentless catastrophe unfolding before our eyes. Wildfires devour native forests, bulldozers carve deep, irreversible scars into living soils, and people in distant, forgotten communities endure hunger and preventable illness.
These brutal realities point to a quiet, simmering crisis born from the entanglement of environmental devastation and humanitarian collapse. In the media, El Impenetrable is often portrayed as a site where ecocide and genocide unfold side by side—not as intertwined histories of human and more-than-human life, but as collateral damage within a developmental logic that renders certain lives and territories disposable.
And yet, for its inhabitants, El Impenetrable remains a place of enduring hope—a land of resistance and possibility, where life persists defiantly against all odds. Despite the hardship of the terrain, the state's abandonment, and the growing pressure of agribusiness, people remain rooted, resilient, and unyielding. Deforestation has become an increasing concern in this complex setting, deeply entangled with critical issues such as land tenure, environmental governance, climate change, and territorial planning.
This tension has given rise to two conflicting narratives of urgency: one that promotes preventive measures, guided by a forward-looking logic of avoidance, and another that reflects on past events—an urgency grounded in endurance, mourning, and repair. This research explores how these narratives unfold, interact, and shape one another as they converge in the present, intensifying their mutual call for prompt and decisive action today.