Forests are fundamental for the preservation of rivers and their water quality. When trees are felled this protection is lost, rivers silt up, water purity declines and many areas experience flooding. Felling the forest There are many causes of deforestation and logging is largely to blame. A combination of human greed, poor controls and non-existent law enforcement makes matters worse. Forests are also felled to make way for villages, roads, agriculture and highly polluting pulp factories.
Cattle ranching is one of the main reasons for deforestation in Paraguay.
In some areas almost two and a half hectares of forest are felled to provide grazing for each cow. Itaip was the most expensive of the mega-dams and the source of the greatest corruption scandals but it was not the last. When Itaip was opened in 1982 sample species of fauna had to be rescued and relocated to five biological reserves which represent less than one third of the flooded area. In the Argentinian province of Misiones, plantations have replaced forests on all sides. Sadly, rainforests are particularly good for business.