Argentine lawmakers are weighing legislation that would impose a one-year nationwide ban on commercial timber cutting, a highly controversial proposal that has caused friction within President Néstor Kirchner’s ruling Front for Victory party. Following months of sharp debate within the governing party, the Chamber of Deputies—the lower house of Argentina’s Congress—voted on March 14 in favor of the proposal. It was unclear, however, when the Senate would take up the bill, which reflects growing concern here about deforestation as fast-expanding crop farming operations consume woodlands in northern provinces. The way was opened for this month’s vote when governing-party lawmakers last month agreed to a compromise under which the length of the ban would be shortened to one year from the... [Log in to read more]