Is Argentina Cutting Off Its Future?

Collab: Carolina Somoza, B.A. in Political Science (University of Buenos Aires), holds diplomas in Environmental Law, the Rights of Migrants and Refugees, and Comprehensive Environmental Education. Teacher and serves as an advisor at the Office of the Ombudsperson (Autonomous City of Buenos Aires).

The National Budget, ultimately, the most concrete expression of a government's priorities. In environmental matters, this statement becomes especially relevant: no matter how advanced the legal frameworks, how strong the international commitments, or how lofty the official discourse may be—without adequate funding, public policies become dead letter.

In Argentina, this phenomenon is particularly evident. In recent months, we have witnessed the downgrading of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to a mere Undersecretariat for the Environment—now under the jurisdiction of the Secretariat for Tourism, Environment, and Sports, which in turn reports to the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Interior, which itself falls under the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers.This bureaucratic reshuffling not only diminishes the institutional standing of environmental policy, but also restricts its capacity for strategic leadership.

This article seeks to analyze the current state of Argentina’s national environmental budget, with a focus on the 2025 draft bill—characterized by drastic cuts, under-execution of allocated funds, and a stark contradiction between key legislative commitments and the actual resources assigned to implement them.

-An Extended and Centralized Budget:

The starting point for understanding the current situation lies in the broader political framework. Since 2024, the national administration has chosen to extend the previous budget via executive decrees, concentrating the power to reallocate funds in the hands of the Executive Branch. Simultaneously, the environmental sector has been downgraded, reducing its institutional weight within the structure of the State.

This reorganization is part of a broader context of structural adjustment in public spending. The official narrative—centered around the so-called “chainsaw” budget policy—has resulted in cuts that affect strategic legislation such as the Native Forests Law (Ley de Bosques Nativos) and funding for the National Parks Administration.

-An Unprecedented Cut:

According to data from The Environment and Natural Resources Foundation (FARN)^[1], the budget allocated to the Undersecretariat for the Environment was reduced by 68.9% in real terms compared to 2023. This drop has resulted in a functional hollowing-out of areas that were already facing long-standing structural limitations.

The National Parks, protected under Law 22.351 and considered pillars of conservation in Argentina, have also been affected by the austerity measures. The cuts amount to approximately 40% in real terms, compromising essential operations such as wildfire control, biodiversity monitoring, and infrastructure maintenance.

-Argentina’s Native Forests Law, Hollowed Out:

The case of Law 26.331 on Minimum Standards for the Environmental Protection of Native Forests is paradigmatic. This legislation stipulates that at least 0.3% of the national budget must be allocated to financing forest management and conservation plans. However, for 2025, only 2.5% of the amount legally required has been assigned. In other words, the cut exceeds 97% of the minimum funding established by law.

This case is particularly striking given that, according to Open Budget 2025^[2],, the National Fund for the Enrichment and Conservation of Native Forests has, as of today, executed zero pesos of its allocated budget.

Another key area—Environmental Assessment and Oversight—has faced a real-term reduction of between 52.9% and 59.8%, weakening the State’s ability to monitor and regulate high-impact activities such as mining and large-scale infrastructure projects.

-Assessment, Oversight, and Fire:

Another striking point is that The National Fire Management Service (Servicio Nacional de Manejo del Fuego) received a real-term budget increase of approximately 46%. Yet despite this apparent “budgetary effort,” the country continues to burn.

According to data gathered by Greenpeace^[3],—through satellite imagery and fieldwork—the area of Andean-Patagonian forests affected by wildfires between October 2024 and March 2025 reached 31,722 hectares, distributed as follows: 11,782 hectares in Neuquén, 10,218 in Río Negro, and 9,722 in Chubut.

-Lights in the Darkness:

The national budgetary deterioration contrasts with some provincial and civil society initiatives. In June 2025, the province of Chubut established The Patagonia Azul Provincial Park, a protected area of nearly 295,000 hectares on the Atlantic coast, in collaboration with The Rewilding Argentina Foundation and The National Parks Administration.

This case serves as a beacon amid austerity: it demonstrates that progress in conservation is possible when there is political will and coordination with civil society organizations, even as the national government cuts resources and downplays the climate crisis.

-A Legal Framework Without Financial Support:

The underfunding also contrasts sharply with a robust environmental regulatory framework built over the past three decades.

• General Environmental Law (2002): establishes minimum standards and environmental policy principles such as prevention and citizen participation.

• Native Forests Law (2007): sets a minimum funding requirement which, as we have seen, is not being met.

• Glaciers Law (2011): aims to protect glaciers and the periglacial environment.

• Yolanda Law (2020): mandates environmental training for all public officials.

• Comprehensive Environmental Education Law (2021): guarantees the transversal incorporation of environmental topics across all educational levels.

In theory, these laws place Argentina at the forefront of the region. In practice, without adequate funding, they become a legal framework without real transformative capacity.

-A Development Model in Dispute:

The current situation exposes a profound contradiction: while the global climate crisis intensifies and large sectors of society call for strengthened state action, Argentina is cutting and under-executing its Environmental Budget.

The risk is not only non-compliance with national laws but also the loss of opportunities—from conserving unique ecosystems to accessing international climate finance, which requires strong public policy frameworks.

-The Role of Civil Society:

In this context, the role of Civil Society, specialized media outlets, and federal coordination platforms is crucial. Highlighting the underfunding, demanding compliance with the law, and showcasing positive examples are necessary steps to reverse a worrying trend #ForABetterWorld

At the end of the day, the budget is not a simple accounting exercise; it is the expression of a development model. And today, the message Argentina sends on environmental matters is clear: priorities in this area are nonexistent. Changing this will depend on citizen pressure and the political capacity to place the environment back at the center of the public agenda.

Bibliography:

^[1] FARN (2025). Environmental Budget Monitor: How was the execution between January and April 2025? Available at: https://farn.org.ar/documentos/monitor-ambiental-presupuesto-enero-abril-2025/(Article in Spanish)

^[2] Open Budget Argentina. Available at: https://www.presupuestoabierto.gob.ar/sici/visualizacion-para-que-se-gasta#(Website in Spanish)

^[3] Greenpeace (2025). Forest Fires in the Andean-Patagonian Region of Argentina. Available at: https://www.greenpeace.org/argentina/participa/incendios/#:~:text=Incendios%20forestales%20en%20los%20Bosques,media%20ciudad%20de%20Buenos%20Aires.(Article in Spanish)