Rewilding Argentina
Fundación Rewilding Argentina | |
Formation | 2010 |
---|---|
Type | Nonprofit |
Location |
|
Fields | Species reintroduction, rewilding |
Executive director | Sofía Heinonen |
Rewilding Argentina (
Rewilding Argentina has donated land that led to the creation or expansion of six national parks, two provincial parks, and one national reserve in Argentina. Among the parks expanded or created through Rewilding Argentina are Monte León National Park, El Impenetrable National Park, Perito Moreno National Park, Patagonia National Park, Aconquija National Park, Iberá National Park, Cueva de las Manos Provincial Park, and the Iberá Provincial Reserve.
Through its
Background and history
Since the
In 2004, Conservation Land Trust donated land to the Argentine government that was later used to form the Monte León National Park in Santa Cruz Province. By 2007, Conservation Land Trust Argentina had acquired an additional 142,000 ha (350,000 acres) for restoration and conservation projects.[5] Additional swamp land and former ranches were purchased, and by 2010, the organization had acquired 765,000 ha (1,890,000 acres) of land in Chile and Argentina.[4]
Rewilding Argentina was founded in 2010 by Argentinian conservationists as a spin-off of the non-profit organization Tompkins Conservation, which serves as a project partner.
Establishment of national parks
The efforts of Rewilding Argentina and its counterpart in Chile have led to the establishment or enlargement of 15 national parks in Argentina and Chile, protecting 6,000,000 ha (15,000,000 acres).[7] By 2022, the organization had donated $400 million to conservation efforts[1] and had donated around 400,000 ha (990,000 acres) of land, with "an estimated market value of US$91 million".[8] In Argentina, the organization's land donations have resulted in the enlargement and creation of six national parks, two provincial parks, and one national reserve. The lands comprise over 10% of the land managed by the National Parks Administration of Argentina.[8]
By 2003, Doug Tompkins had acquired 110,074 ha (272,000 acres) of land in the Iberá wetlands.
The donation of the 37,500-acre (15,200 ha) El Rincón Ranch in Santa Cruz Province in 2013 enlarged the size of Perito Moreno National Park. The creation of the 128,000 ha (320,000-acre) El Impenetrable National Park in 2014 was made possible through the donation of La Fidelidad Ranch.[10] In 2015, Rewilding Argentina donated land that led to the establishment of Patagonia National Park in Santa Cruz Province. In 2018, the organization donated land that became the Aconquija National Park in Tucumán Province.[5] In 2018, 151,757 ha (375,000 acres) of land was donated to the Argentine government and the Iberá National Park was created.[1] The Cambyretá Wild Nature Reserve was established in 2019.[11] In 2019, Rewilding Argentina donated land for the creation of the Cueva de las Manos Provincial Park, which contains the rock art site Cueva de las Manos in Santa Cruz Province. In 2021, Rewilding Argentina donated over 50,000 ha (120,000 acres) to increase the size of the Iberá Provincial Reserve.[5]
Rewilding Argentina also assisted in the passage of legislation in Argentina that led to the creation of two national marine reserves, the Yaganes Marine National Park and the Namuncurá-Burdwood Bank II Marine National Park.[5][12]
In 2022, Rewilding Argentina was part of a coalition that created the Península Mitre Natural Protected Area in Mitre Peninsula that complements the Tierra del Fuego National Park.[13][5]
Rewilding and species reintroduction
In addition to habitat restoration, Rewilding Argentina manages multispecies rewilding projects
Rewilding Argentina emphasizes the reintroduction of keystone species, including large predators, to restore ecosystem function through trophic cascading. Many large vertebrates in Argentina, such as giant anteaters, lowland tapirs, giant river otters, jaguars, and peccaries were mostly hunted to extinction. Rewilding Argentina acquires animals from wildlife shelters and zoos. It implements quarantine protocols and captive breeding programs, eventually releasing the animals into reserves.[4] Rewilding Argentina makes use of camera traps and satellite collars to monitor the reintroduced species and to document animal presence and predator-prey dynamics.[15] For pumas, the rewilding teams engage in "capture campaigns" to find and capture the animals. Once fitted with GPS collars, the pumas are tracked using the Iridium satellite constellation.[15]
Rewilding Argentina has introduced
The rewilding team of the Conservation Land Trust reintroduced
Rewilding Argentina has reintroduced giant river otters sourced from European zoos.[9] Three giant river otter cubs were born in the Iberá wetlands in May 2021.[18]
Pampas deer were translocated from the northern portion of the Iberá Provincial Reserve from 2009 to 2012 and from 2015 and 2019. They were reintroduced following a period of acclimatization and two self-sustaining populations now exist in Iberá.[9]
The reintroduction of red-and-green macaws involved the construction of an aviary that has a stuffed, remote-controlled fox to help the birds learn to not feed on the ground. Only one of the seven birds that were initially released in 2015 survived, likely due to poor antipredation skills. Following improved training techniques, an additional 43 macaws were released between 2016 and 2022.[9][19] Reintroduction efforts involved planting 100 pindó palms (Syagrus romanzoffiana) as food sources for the macaws.[9] Pre-release aviaries were also constructed for bare-faced curassows and nine individuals were reintroduced in 2020.[9]
Rewilding Argentina started a project for reintroducing jaguars in 2010.
Rewilding Argentina has also attempted to reintroduce guanacos to the Pampas region. A population of 45 translocated from Southern Patagonia was approved by the Ministry of Environment.[21]
As of 2022, Rewilding Argentina also has plans for reintroduction projects for red-legged seriemas (Cariama cristata) and lowland pacas (Cuniculus paca).[9]
In 2022, Rewilding Argentina signed an agreement with the government of Jujuy Province to restore native wildlife. The initial collaboration resulted in the transfer of five collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu) and an ocelot (Leopardus pardalis).[22] To facilitate the reintroduction of ocelots to the Iberá Wetlands, a pre-release corral complex was created to help them adapt to the wild and develop hunting skills.[23]
In April 2023, the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development approved the import of three Chilean huemuls to the Patagonian Desert in Argentina.[24] At a meeting of the National Parks Administration in June 2023, a proposed project by Rewilding Argentine to relocate swamp deer from Iberá to El Impenetrable National Park was determined to be unviable.[24]
Community relations
Capacity building and ecotourism
In conjunction with reintroductions of species, Rewilding Argentina works with rural communities in establishing a restoration economy with an emphasis on ecotourism and capacity building. The organization has focused on developing trails, campsites and infrastructure for nature tourism. Additionally, Rewilding Argentina has established "gateways" to nature preserves in adjacent communities.[25] Local people have transitioned to jobs as tour guides and park rangers.[26] The establishment of a Northern Ecotourism Corridor was backed by then-President Mauricio Macri and the Minister of Tourism.[3]
Concerns about foreign investors and species introductions
The initial purchases of land by Doug Tompkins led to rumors that he worked for the
Opposition from people worried about a foreign organization owning land in Argentina was diffused when Rewilding Argentina donated the lands to the government. Nonetheless, the prospect of restoring jaguars to a cattle-ranching region was met with skepticism by locals.[1] Ranchers have also opposed the reintroduction of guanacos and pumas.[8]
In an ecocritical article in Green Letters, Soledad Altrudi called attention to the process of habituating pumas for ecotourism, writing that it is "predicated on controlling future animal behavior".[15]
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4729-9040-2. Archivedfrom the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- PMID 34242225.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-64283-245-7. Archivedfrom the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ a b c Greenfield, Patrick (24 June 2022). "How to rewild a country: the story of Argentina". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 February 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Who we are". Fundación Rewilding Argentina. Archived from the original on 7 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ Chester, Tim (1 March 2024). "How Tourism Is Helping Protect Argentina's Wild Coastline". AFAR. Archived from the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024 – via MSN.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-64722-871-2. Archivedfrom the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ from the original on 15 January 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-003-09782-2. Archivedfrom the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ Lehner, Nadine (16 May 2013). "37,500-acre El Rincon donated to expand Perito Moreno National Park". Patagon Journal. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "New reserve created in the Iberá Wetlands, Corrientes province" (in European Spanish). Casa Rosada. 25 July 2019. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Argentina creates two new marine parks to protect penguins, sea lions". Mongabay. 14 December 2018. Archived from the original on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ISBN 978-3-031-38048-8. Archivedfrom the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ Allen, Daniel; Blythe, Cain (5 January 2023). "Rewilding Argentina's Ibera Wetlands". Geographical. Archived from the original on 24 January 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ .
- ^ "Rewilding Argentina and Beyond, Park by Park, Part 1". The Rewilding Institute. 16 August 2018. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "La historia de la osa hormiguera que inició la reintroducción de especies en el Iberá". El Litoral (in Spanish). 15 May 2022. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ Brady, Sasha (7 July 2021). "Rewilding in Argentina's ecotourism hotspot saved these giant river otters". Lonely Planet. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ Moore, Nancy (19 July 2020). "Historic: Macaws reintroduced to Ibera Park". Patagon Journal. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ISBN 978-1-108-78878-6. Archivedfrom the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- .
- ^ "Jujuy firmó convenio con la Fundación Rewilding para la restitución de fauna nativa" (in Spanish). Gobierno de Jujuy. 22 May 2022. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Argentina: Un nuevo proyecto de Rewilding inicia en la provincia de Corrientes: El ocelote vuelve a Iberá". Ladera Sur (in Spanish). 7 January 2022. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Comunicados del Consejo Asesor Científico Tecnológico (CACiT) de Parques Nacionales". Argentina.gob.ar (in Spanish). 7 September 2023. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "La importante cantidad de visitas que tuvo el Iberá en el 2022". El Litoral (in Spanish). 21 December 2022. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ Postman, Alex (7 September 2022). "In Argentina, Returning the Country's Remote Landscapes to Their Wildest States". Condé Nast Traveler. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ISBN 978-0-262-04676-3. Archivedfrom the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
External links
- Official website
- Rewilding Argentina, Talk to Al Jazeera: In the Field (video)