We traced how soy and beef production in Argentina and Paraguay impact mammal diversity—and who’s driving it. Spoiler: It’s not just exports.

New paper by Isabel Carpenter et al. out now in Global Environmental Change Volume 92.

We used trade, land use & biodiversity data to map biodiversity risks of commodity production. Our research shows domestic consumption in Argentina and Paraguay causes more biodiversity loss in the Gran Chaco than exports.

Pasture expansion (for beef) had a bigger impact than cropland (for soy). Biodiversity risks vary not just by how much is consumed—but where and how it’s produced. To protect dry forests like the Gran Chaco, we need transparent supply chains.

See the full paper here: Carpenter, I., Kuemmerle, T., Romero-Munoz, A., Aguiar, S., Gasparri, I., Lathuillière, M. J., Nanni, S., Ribero, V., & Baumann, M. (2025). Attributing deforestation-driven biodiversity decline in the Gran Chaco to agricultural commodity supply chains. Global Environmental Change, 92, 103011.