The Atlantic rainforest near the Iguazú Falls in South America has been brutally cleared in recent decades. A small association from Switzerland is now trying to get the last remnants.
The Iguazú Falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil is a major tourist attraction as is the jungle that surrounds it.
When Ruth Zimmermann and Johannes Jenny talk, they always mix a few scraps of Spanish with the Swiss German. That has a lot to do with the family history of the two. Zimmermann was born in Argentina in 1957 as the daughter of a Swiss citizen living abroad. She has lived in Switzerland since 1984. But the ties to Argentina are still strong. “For me, almost 40 years ago it was not a return, but a departure,” says the pensioner. Numerous relatives of Zimmermann still live in South America.
Relatives in Argentina
Jenny also has strong family roots in Argentina. His great-grandfather emigrated to South America at the end of the 19th century. His grandmother later returned and started a family in Aarau. A sister, an elderly aunt and three cousins still live in Argentina. A cousin lives in north-eastern Argentina on the border with Paraguay and Brazil. It is the area to which Zimmermann’s father Franz emigrated from Lucerne’s Wynental in 1938 and founded a small sawmill together with two brothers. Misiones was the destination of several waves of emigration from Switzerland. Especially between 1934 and 1938, many Swiss settled there as lumberjacks and tobacco farmers.
However, Zimmermann and Jenny do not meet in Zimmermann’s family home in Mumpf (Aargau) to exchange memories and family stories. Their conversation is about the greatest ecological wealth that Misiones has to offer. Here, near the world-famous Iguazú Falls, is one of the last remnants of the Atlantic Forest. “It is one of the oldest forests in the world,” says biologist Jenny. He was manager of Pro Natura Aargau for 24 years and represented the FDP in the Aargau Grand Council.
“While there are around 50 different native tree species in Switzerland, up to 450 tree species per hectare are counted in the world’s most species-rich forest,” explains Jenny. This is a diversity that is unique on the entire planet. Originally, the Atlantic rainforest covered huge areas in Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. Most of it has disappeared in recent decades due to deforestation. Only 8 percent of the original area remains and only 15 percent of this small remnant is under protection.
With the association Sagittaria for nature conservation in Argentina, founded in 1988, Jenny tries to save as much of the valuable subtropical forest. That’s why he knocks on Ruth Zimmermann’s door. She inherited a 300-hectare piece of land from her father. “The center of my life is in Switzerland and I can’t use this country myself,” says the pensioner. She is therefore looking for a sensible use for the property. “Sagittaria seems to me to vouch for that.” Zimmermann found out about the project from Jenny’s cousin, who works as a doctor in Argentina.
By selling the property to the association, it returns to the true owners. Sagittaria is giving back the soil to the people who settled the area in the Misiones region around 20,000 years ago, the indigenous people of the Mbyá. They belong to the Indian ethnic group of the Guaraní, who settled in South America in pre-Columbian times as hunters, gatherers and planters of countless varieties of corn and manioc. There are around 9,000 Mbyá in the province of Misiones, around 13,000 live in Brazil and around 3,000 in Paraguay.
“The Mbyá maintain a very sustainable lifestyle,” says Johannes Jenny. “Each individual should only use as many resources as they really need.” On the land belonging to the members of the tribe, they are only allowed to live according to their traditions. Among other things, as they are very good connoisseurs of the jungle, they use numerous plants as medicines. By using the rainforest sparingly, they mitigate the greenhouse effect, conserve water and reduce soil erosion.
Ministry of Climate Change
Authorities in the province of Misiones, home to more than half of Argentina’s biodiversity, are aware of their role in relation to climate change. Since October 2020 there has been a Ministry for Climate Change (Ministerio de Cambio Climático), which, among other things, is actively involved in the reforestation of the forests.
“We are aware that our association can only contribute a little to the preservation of the rainforest,” explains Jenny. “But every square meter counts.” In recent years, the Sagittaria association has been able to buy around 253 hectares and give them back to the indigenous people. Ruth Zimmermann’s 300 hectares, the price of which was not disclosed, are therefore a massive increase.
Johannes Jenny already has his sights set on the next project. There are 400 hectares for sale in Chafariz, 50 in the Cuña Pirú valley, 2,500 in Villa Delicia and 10,000 in Ka’a Kupe. “The land is available, it’s all a question of finances,” says the biologist. The deal with Ruth Zimmermann is an incentive for him and his club to intensify their efforts.