Between 1990 and 2010 Argentina lost 15.5% of its forest cover, or around 5,393,000 hectares according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. In a world of ever-shrinking forests even on tree can make a difference. So when the municipal government of San Isidro decided to tear up the Bosque Alegre without so much as a word beforehand, it inevitably brought forth an outcry from local activists.

The 4-hectare public park is one of the last coastal forests found in the province of Buenos Aires and now half of it is gone. The tranquil town of San Isidro is suddenly not so quiet anymore. The activists are battling the municipal government, which is headed by Gustavo Posse, for the remaining green space.

On 10th May 2011 Posse signed an agreement, which put the forest in the hands of the Club Atlético San Isidro. Soon the calls of more than 200 species of animals changed into the roars and whines of chainsaws as trees came tumbling down. Before anyone could do anything half of the trees lay on the ground leaving a massive gape of where they used to stand.

However, activists haven’t given up hope and now armed with more than 5,000 signatures they are fighting for what remains of the Bosque Alegre.

The Indy decided to hop onto the train and travel to San Idsidro to find out what the locals think about the issue.  Portraits by Diego Espinosa.

Dora Enceña, 47, housewife, San Isidro

“For me forests are very important and it’s just terrible that they’ve cut down [half] the forest. We need to preserve the forests for many reasons. It is important that communities have green spaces because it is a place where people can go to relax and enjoy themselves in a quiet area. It is also good for the environment and in general the atmosphere of a city. It was very wrong that the government didn’t tell us beforehand what they were doing. They should have asked the city their opinion or whether or not we wanted this to happen. We have a right to know what is happening to out public spaces, especially the forests. Towns need forests and green spaces, there is no other way of putting it, we need them. As for whether or not the activists will be successful I am not sure, I don’t know how they can do it.”

Ricardo Pelfort, 67, retired, San Isidro

“This is a government that is very privatised. It is a government that favours private corporations over everything else. There is no interest in maintaining anything that does not make a profit. They don’t care about the trees. They don’t have any interest in protecting them if cutting them down will eventually earn them money. It’s sad because the trees are a symbol of life, they grow here along the river or in the middle of the city and they help clean the environment. There is no life without them. They clean the water and the air and we need both of those to live. Many people don’t have another place to go and relax and enjoy nature in the middle of the city. We need public green spaces like this. People who have a lot of money can go to the closed parks but if you don’t have money where are you going to go? It’s really sad what the government has taken away from its people.”

Marisol Sota, 25, store sales rep, San Fernando

“I do not agree with the decision of the government to cut down the trees. It took them so many years to grow and now the government has just come along and cut them down. It is very bad. We need trees to clean the air in our atmosphere. We need them to change the carbon dioxide into oxygen, they are absolutely necessary especially in a city. It is important to have these green spaces so that all the poison that gets pumped into the atmosphere from cars is turned into oxygen. Unfortunately, when it comes to the activists I am not sure if they can win against a government. They aren’t the first group to try to stand up against them and most people are unsuccessful. But now it is not important whether or not the public was informed before the government cut them down. What is important now is the remaining trees. We need to focus on them and not what has happened, we can’t change that.”

Dario Deschamps, 35, Tren de La Costa employee, Tigre

“What the government did I believe is really bad. They should have spoken with the neighbours who live in this community. Whenever they want to modify something they should have to talk to the residents. The people who live here have a right to green spaces that are free to the public. They should have a right to go somewhere green with their children but the government’s only interest is money. Today they don’t think about what is healthy and safe but instead of money. It is a disrespect of the environment and the general public. There are green spaces in the greater city of Buenos Aires but there are not that many anymore. There is an urban explosion and because of this we are losing spaces to offices and housing, it is the same story in Tigre. For many reasons we need these large green spaces. We need to respect the local fauna and flora as well, but this will totally modify it. How can people learn about it and learn to respect it if the government doesn’t? I think this fight is important because it is a fight for the environment and the neighbours rights.”

Edith Robles, 50, Tren de La Costa employee, Boccar

“I think it is bad. The trees help us breath, we need them for the oxygen that is necessary for us to live. We contaminate the air and they clean it for us, and then we just chop them all down. We need green spaces, the entire planet needs trees, we need them to live. How can it be put any simpler? They didn’t make this decision public and I think that is very wrong. They should have spoken to the public to find out what our opinion was of cutting down the forest. Then they should have made a decision, but only after asking the people who live here. I also agree with what the activists are doing. I don’t think it’s too later. They can still save the trees that are still standing and just in general bring more awareness to the entire issue of deforestation.”

Tierra-i real time satellite imaging reveals rapid deforestation throughout Latin America, and estimates that nearly 250,000 hectares of forest are lost in Argentina alone every year. Deforestation is particularly a problem in the northern provinces, home to the Argentine part of the Gran Chaco forest. As farmers have found soy to be more lucrative than cattle, traditional crops are traded for the profitable bean.

The Argentina Independent hits the streets to find out what the locals think about deforestation. Do you think that deforestation is a significant concern? Why is a problem in Argentina in particular?

Photos: Agus Carini

Susana, 41, Administrative Assistant, San Martín

Yes, it is important. More than anything because of everything that it has to do with oxygen itself, and when we consider how it has contributed throughout the years to the destruction of the ozone layer…One can sense that the climate has changed, and now winters are no longer the same winters, and summers are not the same summers, either…I speak from my own understanding, because sometimes there are things that one does not fully understand, but one can perceive…

Maybe the reason that deforestation is a big problem in Argentina would have to do with the regulations, that the regulations are not well formed or that there is no legislation that covers the area well at this moment…. For me it must have to do with this, that the legislation is not managing to cover everything that has to do with natural reserves… there could be other undercurrents that one doesn’t know about.

Pablo, 20, Mechanic, Palermo

Yes, it’s important, because to cut down trees in an effort to get more lands is crazy, I don’t know the percentage of lands that they have taken in order to make furniture, things like that, but yes, it should be.

It’s such a big problem in Argentina because we have a lot of land. There are other countries where it’s not as big of a problem because they have less area. But for example, they also take lands from tribes.

The forests allow us to breath; without them, we couldn’t breathe. It’s important to have them, definitely for this reason, but also because I like green spaces. When I go to the country, I tell you – I love Buenos Aires, but when I go to Juaní, it’s completely different….it’s beautiful.

Alberto, 48, Stone Mason, Berazategui

Yes, I think that deforestation is certainly a problem. The climate has changed, there are days that are so cold in the middle of summer that we have to bundle up. It’s the same in the winter; this past week, there was a polar wind and then it rose to 24 degrees.

It may be that the problem is that the politicians have only recently taken note of the issue, not much importance is given to protecting the forests. We cut down twenty trees, and not one is planted to replace the twenty. They only remember to plant again when the fields are bare.

That’s why today many people are against the planting of soy, [which] is at once a step forward and a step backwards, because it ruins the soil. Where you plant soy, you can’t then go plant other grains. Because there has to be a process to make the earth fertile again, in order to plant grains such as wheat and barley.

Camila, 20, Promoter, San Fernando

Yes, it seems to me that it is a concern…it seems to me that they should inform people a little more, because I, obviously, am not well informed, but I know that deforestation is a problem. Or, better put, that they inform people a little more, so that people can be aware and can realise that it is really bad.

Deforestation is a problem here because here are many cities, there are many buildings, and the little green now isn’t anything more than the plazas, and the few green spaces we have, we can’t take advantage of them often.

These green spaces are important so that people can take advantage of the free time they have, to at least spend some time in a green area, now that we have so much city, streets, cars, noise; when one wants pass a little time in peace, to study, share mate with friends, play the guitar.

Agustín, 23, Unemployed, Pilar

Yes, deforestation is definitely a topic of concern, because trees are extremely important in the equilibrium of the environment, the ecosystem. We’re outside of nature’s harmony. This disconnection causes various problems.

I am not very familiar, but I know – because of Greenpeace’s campaigns more than anything, perhaps – that there is a lot of deforestation in the north, in Missiones, in Entre Ríos, in Formosa… It’s not good to lose even one hectare of forest a day; a hectare is a lot, and a lot more than that is being lost.

One time, I was traveling in the mountains in the south. It was a lovely trip, I was alone, with the birds and the trees. And after climbing for three hours I came upon a logging field. It was rather sad; I had travelled looking at all of the nature, all of the force of nature, and the harmony, and it was all dead there, murdered.

In Tipas Porteñas, photographer Beatrice Murch presents a side of Buenos Aires as iconic as Eva Perón or Jorge Luis Borges. They are canopies, they cut organic figures in the urban landscape, they are at times figurative, at times bare and leafless, at times exuberant dashes of colour, but they are ever present: the Tipa trees of Buenos Aires.

With the generous support of the Athena Educational Trust and Ambientate, Murch presents a dozen large scale digital prints at the Jardín Botánico from 21st November to 12th December 2011 with an opening party on Saturday November 26th.

UPDATE: The show has been extended through December 15 and there will be another party on Sunday December 11th from 1-3 pm at the Botanical Gardens.

Tipa treetops create an interesting pattern in the skyline.

Tipas can grow tall and narrow in the narrow streets of Palermo or they can broaden out to take up more space.

Small yellow tipa flowers blossom in the spring.

Tipas vary in their appearance in the summer and winter months.

Tipas and jacarandas blossom in the springtime in Plaza San Martín to create a beautiful contrast of purple and green.

The crescent moon makes an appearance among the leaves.

After a good spring rainstorm, the tipa flowers create a blanket of yellow underneath.

Tipas create an interesting background in the ever-present political life of porteños, in this case a protest in 2008 in support of 'El Campo'.

Tipas frame the Congress building in Plaza del Congreso.

Tipas Porteñas at Jardín Botánico

Christmas in Buenos Aires feels off to people from the northern hemisphere. It’s hot and sticky and not an evergreen tree or hint of snow in sight. But, if you look carefully behind the closed doors of apartment buildings, you will see Christmas trees decorating the lobbies to bring the festive spirit to porteños. There are also large Christmas trees made of light at a dozen or so large intersections around the city. Photographer Beatrice Murch shares her glimpse of porteño Christmas.

Christmas tree along Av. Córdoba

Av. Libertador 336

Av. Santa Fe 3782

Rodriguez Peña 2076

Esmeralda 650

Calle Florida at Plaza San Martín

Posadas 1429

Esmeralda 740

Pichincha 79

Esmeralda 853

Perú 544

Esmeralda 976

Perú 666

Under a tree of lights in Recoleta

Springtime in Buenos Aires! The capital is bursting with colour as the jacarandas open up their purple blossoms and grace the city with their beauty. Contrasting nicely with the light green tipa trees, the jacarandas bring joy and a peaceful respite to the quick pace of life in the capital. Enjoy the bursts of purple as you relax in the plazas, stroll down the avenues and breathe in the spring air. Argentina Independent photographer Beatrice Murch has spent the last four years capturing the beauty of these trees and shares them with our readers below.

Jacarandas in the morning light (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Jacaranda blossoms (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Jacarandas frame the Plaza de Mayo (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

A hornero

Jacarandas at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Recoleta (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Red ceibo and purple jacaranda blossoms (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Jacarandas in the city (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Jacarandas on Av. Santa Fe (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Jacarandas and San Martín's foot (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Jacarandas at Plaza Miserere in Once (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Jacarandas reflected in mirrored windows (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Jacarandas at Plaza San Martín (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

The purples and the greens of jacarandas and tipas (Photo: Beatrice Murch)