The Forest Bill had been passed by Congress after a huge campaign to collect signatures, supported by over a million and a half Argentinian people.

In order for the president to approve the bill, another campaign was carried out in which people sent emails and phoned the presidential building, but it was the landslide which impacted Tartagal, in Salta Province, what finally convinced Cristina Fernández.

In Tartagal, hundreds of houses were swept by mud, causing a catastrophe which affected thousands of people.

Environmentalist organizations denounced then that this event was deeply linked to the clearing of forests in Salta. As the opposers to native forest logging state, deforestation is closely linked to soy monoculture plantations, which are expanding in an alarming way in Argentina.

With Fernandez´ decision, the law will be enforced, which means that provinces are not allowed to issue permits for cutting trees until an Assesment of their forests is carried out, which should take into account environmental criteria and conservation categories which aim at preserving territories used by native and peasant communities.

Moreover, the regulation establishes mechanisms to respect the opinion of the communities to authorize logging, and environmental impact assesments are demanded.

Today, another important event will take place relating to logging, since a legal hearing called by the country´s Supreme Court of Justice will take place, in which the indigenous and peasant communities of Salta´s northern region will demand a halt to logging in their territories.