location: Argentina

location: Argentina

Social media activity version | Lean version

Elephant seal colonies in Argentina face long recovery after ‘catastrophic’ avian flu
- Avian flu, also known as H5N1, spread through marine mammal colonies in Argentinian Patagonia in August 2023, nearly doubling the death rate among southern elephant seals in some areas.
- In a recent land survey, researchers found no new cases of the disease among the seals, signaling an end to the outbreak, at least for now.
- But they also found that the total number of elephant seals had decreased by as much as 66% in some areas, the direct result of the high mortality rates during last year’s outbreak.
- Colonies will only recover with undisturbed seasons of breeding and molting, as well as access to abundant food, experts said.

Killing of jaguar pushes species’ survival in Argentina’s Gran Chaco to the brink
- The recent killing of a jaguar by hunters increases the species’ risk of extinction in Argentina’s Gran Chaco landscape, where no more than 10 of the big cats are thought remain.
- Images of this particular jaguar were captured by camera trap twice this year as it traveled through a biological corridor; the next time it was photographed was on social media, where hunters posed with its carcass and its pelt.
- A tradition of hunting, lack of public awareness, persistent deforestation, and absence of female jaguars — there’s only one, recently rewilded into the area — are the biggest obstacles to the jaguar’s survival in the Argentine Gran Chaco.

Argentina weighs new MPA to curb international fishing frenzy in ‘Blue Hole’
- Creation of the “Blue Hole” marine protected area in the South Atlantic Ocean would protect thousands of square kilometers of seafloor from bottom trawling and require better working conditions on vessels fishing there. But the bill that would do so has stalled in Argentina’s Congress for years and will expire in November.
- The marine protected area would cover 148,000 square kilometers (57,100 square miles) of Argentina’s continental shelf, where global fishing fleets carry out unregulated fishing, including bottom trawling.
- The Blue Hole protected area would protect the seabed from bottom trawling but continue to allow fishing in the water column above it.
- Ratification of a U.N. treaty could enable Argentina to protect the area from all forms of fishing in the future.

Sweeping reform package threatens environmental protections in Argentina, critics say
- Lawmakers in Argentina passed a massive reform package to overhaul the economy, but many of its policies weaken protections for local communities and encourage accelerated investment in projects with a record of deforestation and pollution.
- With over 230 articles, the controversial bill was approved by the senate earlier this month then sent back to the lower house for a final vote.
- One article in the reform streamlines the development of large investment in infrastructure, oil and gas and the mining of copper and lithium, among other things. It could let companies off the hook for endangering the environment, critics say.
- Another article modifies an administrative law on public hearings that could make it harder for local communities to contest new projects.

In Brazil, conservationists try to save one of the world’s most endangered cats
- Muñoa’s Pampas cat, a small wild feline, is endemic to the Pampas grasslands that sprawl over southern Brazil, Uruguay and northeastern Argentina.
- With fewer than 100 individuals left in the wild, experts call Muñoa’s pampas cat one of the most endangered felines in the world and warn it go extinct within 10 years as its natural habitat is cleared for cropland.
- Conservation plans to save the species include switching from monocultures to extensive ranching that preserves the natural grasslands, creating a captive-breeding program, and developing a trinational conservation agreement.
- Recent floods in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, where many Muñoa’s Pampas cat sightings have been recorded, have currently halted all local conservation efforts, putting the future of this feline at risk.

Indigenous communities along Argentina’s Río Chubut mobilize to conserve waterway
- A caravan of Indigenous Mapuche activists recently concluded an 847-km (526-mi) trek down Argentina’s Chubut River, meeting with communities along the way to raise awareness of the issues they face along the shared waterway.
- From each trawün, or gathering, they determined that Indigenous access to land and water is diminishing, that large-scale projects on their lands are going ahead without their prior informed consent, and that Mapuche communities need a unified stance toward state decisions.
- Huge swaths of land along the river have been bought up by private interests, including foreign millionaires, cutting off access for the Mapuche to the Chubut that they consider not just a physical resource but a spiritual entity.
- The Mapuche are also concerned about policy changes under Argentina’s new libertarian administration, which has already kicked off a massive deregulation spree and could lift a ban on open-pit mining in the region.

Jaguar release offers a lifeline to Gran Chaco’s lonely big cats
- On March 15, the first female jaguar was released into El Impenetrable National Park in northern Argentina in the hope she will mate with resident males.
- Just 10 male jaguars live in Argentina’s Gran Chaco region, with the last confirmed female sighting there 35 years ago, meaning a viable jaguar population is impossible without rewilding efforts.
- By increasing numbers in El Impenetrable, rewilding experts aim to bridge Argentina’s disperse jaguar populations and promote genetic diversity between them.
- The NGO Rewilding Argentina has been working with local communities to develop an ecotourism-centered economy to boost the chances of the jaguars’ survival.

Smallest wildcat of the Atlantic Forest faces enormous threats
- The southern tiger cat (Leopardus guttulus) is at great risk due to the relentless destruction of its habitat, mainly caused by deforestation.
- Its distribution is limited to the Atlantic Forest, in areas bordering Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina and part of Bolivia; the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the southern tiger cat as vulnerable, but in Paraguay its situation is more critical, where it is endangered.
- Little is known about its population size and behavior — in fact, little is known about the species at all; just 10 years ago, it was still considered a subspecies of the oncilla (L. tigrinus).

Rewilding in Argentina helps giant anteaters return to south Brazil
- Recent giant anteater sightings in Rio Grande do Sul state indicate the species has returned to southern Brazil, where it had been considered extinct for more than a century.
- Experts concluded that the giant anteater ventured across the border from the Iberá Park in northeastern Argentina where a rewilding project has released around 110 individuals back into the habitat.
- The sightings emphasize the importance of rewilding projects, both to restore animal populations in specific regions and help ecosystems farther afield.
- Organizations across Brazil are working to protect and maintain current giant anteater populations, including rallying for safer highways to prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions that cause local extinctions.

In Argentina, scientists scramble to study seal colonies hit hard by avian flu
- A powerful strain of the avian flu has swept through seal colonies in southern Argentina, wiping out many juvenile populations and raising concern about a spread to other species.
- The flu, also known as H5N1, appeared in Argentina in August 2023 and resulted in newborn mortality rates of over 90% in some seal colonies.
- Researchers are monitoring colony population trends and trying to better understand how the disease jumps from one species to another, which could affect other mammals like orcas.

Spain sanctions fishing vessels for illegally ‘going dark’ near Argentine waters
- The Spanish government sanctioned 25 of its vessels for illegally turning off their satellite tracking devices while fishing off the coast of Argentina between 2018 and 2021.
- Experts say ships that “go dark” by turning off their trackers often do so to partake in illicit behavior, such as crossing into a nation’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) without authorization.
- While some have praised the Spanish government’s actions, one expert says he doesn’t believe the sanctions go far enough.
- Most fishing activity in this region is also unregulated and unmonitored, which raises environmental concerns.

Major soy producers announce improved deforestation commitments—with caveats
- Eight soy producers published a statement last week committing to halting deforestation in the Amazon, Cerrado and Chaco biomes by 2025 and the conversion of “non-forest primary native vegetation” by 2030.
- The companies include ADM, Amaggi, Bunge, Cargill, COFCO, LDC, Olam Agri and Viterra.
- Conservation groups have pointed out that without an immediate ban on deforestation, the new commitments would allow soy producers to continue clearing forests in years to come.

Cargill widens its deforestation-free goals, but critics say it’s not enough
- Cargill has announced its Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina supply chains will be free of deforestation and land conversion by 2025.
- The commitments also expand to all row crops in those countries, including soy, corn, wheat and cotton.
- While conservation groups have welcomed the expanded commitment, they say it still leaves out countries like Bolivia, Paraguay and Colombia, where deforestation from the expanding agricultural frontier continues to increase.

Offshore drilling faces backlash in Argentina after skirting environmental regulations
- Argentina granted permits to a dozen major oil companies to develop new offshore drilling projects near the Atlantic coast. But some of them may have disregarded policies meant to protect surrounding marine ecosystems.
- A court filing by the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation (FARN) argues that offshore drilling exploration could disorient, injure and even kill marine life and disrupt feeding and migratory areas.
- The companies that received permits include Equinor, Exxon Mobil, Qatar Petroleum Pluspetrol, Shell, Tullow, Total Austral and Shell, among others.

Expanding agriculture could worsen flooding in South American plains, study says
- The South American plains, including Las Pampas and the Gran Chaco, have seen agricultural activity expand drastically to meet international demand.
- A new study published last month in Science found that agriculture is exacerbating flooding in the region, which could disrupt food supplies and prices in the future.
- The study said dedicating more space to deeper-rooted forests and developing crop rotations with more flexible water table depths could stave off disaster.

Penguins ‘enrich our lives’: Q&A with Pablo Borboroglu, protector of penguins
- Pablo Garcia Borboroglu, a marine biologist from Patagonia, Argentina, was recently awarded the 2023 Indianapolis Prize for his work in protecting penguins around the world.
- Penguins face many threats, including pollution, human disturbance, and the impacts of fisheries and climate change.
- Borboroglu has helped protect penguins through various actions, including establishing marine and terrestrial protected areas, conservation research programs, and educational programs.

A mega-highway threatens South America’s vulnerable Gran Chaco
- Dubbed the new Panama Canal, the 2,290-kilometer (1,423-mile) Bioceanic Corridor will connect Chile to Brazil via Argentina and Paraguay and aim to reduce freight transport costs.
- The highway crosses the Gran Chaco, one of the world’s most threatened biomes, which has already lost a fifth of its forest since 1985 due to agricultural expansion.
- Conservationists warn that the highway will lead to a surge in deforestation and an increase in the number of vehicle collisions, putting both people and wildlife at risk.
- Mitigating the environmental and social risks associated with the highway requires stronger political will and more robust implementation of protective regulations, experts say.

Can the EU’s deforestation law save Argentina’s Gran Chaco from soy?
- Argentina’s Gran Chaco forest accounts for less than 10% of the soy produced in the country, but is where about 95% of soy-related deforestation occurs.
- Soy is one of several commodities that will now face stringent no-deforestation requirements for import into the European Union, which poses a major challenge to the soy industry in producer countries like Argentina.
- The country is the third-largest soy exporter in the world, and industry representatives say they’re ready for the new regulation, having long prepared for the changes using new technologies and developing a tracking system to trace the origins of soy.
- Environmentalists say they’re skeptical that the industry can be trusted to monitor itself, and have welcomed the EU regulation as putting needed external pressure on the industry.

Argentines try to stop oil and gas exploration off ‘The Happy’ tourist coast
- An authorization to explore for hydrocarbons in Argentine waters has the cities and towns along the coast of Buenos Aires province on edge.
- Prospecting using shots of compressed air is a threat to the hearing systems of cetaceans and other marine mammals, experts say; the possibility of spills also concerns those in the tourism industry.
- Protests in the streets and an unresolved legal conflict have delayed the start of some exploratory projects that could begin in October.

Indigenous communities in Argentina’s Chaco fear another heavy fire season in 2023
- Fires affected some 1.8 million hectares in Argentina in 2022.
- Many of the country’s 2022 fires occurred in the country’s northern Chaco region and were largely caused by industrial agriculture coupled with drought conditions, according to Indigenous residents and researchers.
- The arid Gran Chaco is the second-largest forest in South America after the Amazon, and extends across 110 million hectares and portions of four countries—Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia
- Experts said deforestation of Argentina’s Chaco is affecting Indigenous communities’ access to resources.

For Argentina’s ruddy-headed goose, threats grow while population shrinks
- The ruddy-headed goose is on the brink of extinction, with just 700 birds left in southern Argentina and Chile, the result of hunting in the 20th century and habitat loss in the 21st.
- Every southern winter, these aquatic birds migrate more than 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) north, alongside the closely related ashy-headed and upland geese, from southern Patagonia to the province of Buenos Aires.
- A sanctuary in the species’ wintering area, a site specifically for the conservation of the species in the Argentine sector of the island of Tierra del Fuego, and a breeding center in Chile are among the conservation strategies being implemented to save the species.

Peat on land and kelp at sea as Argentina protects tip of Tierra del Fuego
- Argentinian legislators recently approved a law to permanently protect the Mitre Peninsula at the tip of South America, which harbors vast peatlands and kelp forests that host an assortment of species.
- The Mitre Peninsula is thought to hold about 84% of Argentina’s peatlands, which are known to sequester about 315 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, roughly equivalent to three years of emissions in Argentina.
- The region also holds more than 30% of the world’s kelp forests, another key store of carbon.

In Patagonia, a puma’s life is decided by political borders
- Human-wildlife conflict has caused a decline in the puma population in parts of Argentinian Patagonia, research shows.
- One of Patagonia’s emblematic species, the puma is treated very differently by Argentina and Chile, the two countries that share the region.
- The Argentinian province of Chubut pays a puma bounty to incentivize the hunting of pumas, as a measure to counter livestock killings.
- Chile has outlawed puma hunting and has found a delicate balance between ranching and conservation.

Conservationists play matchmaker to boost Argentina’s jaguar gene pool
- Conservationists arranged a complex operation to mate two jaguars living in two different parks in Argentina and to prepare their offspring for release into Iberá Park in the country’s Corrientes province.
- The jaguar cubs will bring genetic diversity to the small but growing population of jaguars in Iberá.
- For about 70 years, jaguars were absent from Iberá, but conservationists have been reintroducing them for the past two years.
- It’s estimated that only 200 to 300 jaguars live across Argentina.

Tree plantations in Patagonia are the site of wildfires and land dispute
- For decades, Argentina has subsidized the clearing of native forest and planting exotic species, primarily pines, on land often claimed by Indigenous peoples.
- A recent standoff over a land dispute led to gunmen shooting two young Indigenous Mapuche activists, one fatally.
- Pine plantations increase wildfire risk, contributing to several major fires in recent years.
- Wildfires also encourage invasion by pines into native forests, leading to a feedback loop that threatens both native forests and human settlements.

Andean eagles have managed to adapt to fragmenting habitats — for now
- A new study looked at black-and-chestnut eagles’ (Spizaetus isidori) ability to survive in fragmented forests in the Andean regions of Colombia and Argentina.
- Researchers found that the eagles were able to fly between fragmented forests on different mountain ranges and survive better than terrestrial predators
- However, juvenile eagles had higher mortality rates than their adult counterparts, suggesting that conservation efforts should be focused on ensuring young eagles survive into adulthood.

A helping hand for red-footed tortoises making a comeback in Argentina
- Conservationists are releasing red-footed tortoises back into El Impenetrable National Park in Argentina’s Chaco province, in an effort to reintroduce the species to the region.
- The species is so rarely seen in the Gran Chaco region of Argentina that it’s believed to be locally extinct there.
- Red-footed tortoises are under threat due to the illegal pet trade, habitat destruction, and hunting for meat consumption.
- The species is the latest being reintroduced by Rewilding Argentina, which has already brought back species like jaguars and marsh deer to El Impenetrable.

China-funded dam could disrupt key Argentine glaciers and biodiversity
- Two dams are being built on the 380-kilometer (236-mile) Santa Cruz River in Argentina’s Patagonia, threatening glacier movements and endemic wildlife that rely on the surrounding wetlands.
- Several Indigenous Mapuche communities, who consider the area to be important to their cultural heritage, say officials failed to consult with them before starting the project.
- Despite protests, lawsuits and court orders to pause construction, work on the complex, part of the China-funded Belt and Road Initiative, has continued.

Indigenous group defends uncontacted relatives from cattle onslaught in the Gran Chaco
- The Gran Chaco, a dry forest that stretches across Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina, is one of the fastest-disappearing ecosystems on the planet, having lost 20% of forest cover between 2000 and 2019, according to a recent study.
- The Chaco is home to the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode, one of the only known “uncontacted” Indigenous groups in South America outside of the Amazon; in early 2021, members of this group approached a camp of their contacted relatives to express their concerns about escalating forest destruction.
- The contacted Ayoreo-Totobiegosode have been engaged in a legal battle for their traditional homelands for nearly 30 years, and although Paraguay designated this region as a protected area in 2001, several cattle-ranching companies have obtained land titles within the region, with deforestation continuing.
- Last month, the tribe made further appeals to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights requesting the official title to their traditional lands.

Chinese investment in Latin America plagues people and nature: Report
- A report from the Collective on Chinese Financing and Investments, Human Rights and the Environment (CICDHA) lays out the impact that Chinese-funded infrastructure, energy and mining projects have had in Latin America.
- The report looked at 26 projects in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.
- It found almost all of them contributed to deforestation and water pollution, as well as human rights violations against local and Indigenous communities.
- CICDHA’s report lays out numerous recommendations for improving the behavior of companies carrying out projects in Latin America, but expresses doubt about China’s willingness to make a good-faith attempt at improvements.

‘Everything is on fire’: Flames rip through Iberá National Park in Argentina
- Fires in the central Corrientes province of northeast Argentina have burned through nearly 60% of Iberá National Park, home to protected marshlands, grasslands and forests that hosts an array of species.
- Many of the fires originated from nearby cattle ranches, and spread across significant portions of the park due to a prolonged drought.
- Conservationists are working to relocate a number of reintroduced species, including giant river otters and macaws, to places of safety.
- While experts say they expect a substantial loss to biodiversity, they add that the park should mount a rapid recovery thanks to all the rewilding work already done.

Bringing back large mammals boosts restoration of entire ecosystems: Study
- Large mammals play crucial ecological roles by influencing the behavior of other animals in the food chain and shaping the structure and composition of their environments.
- A new study that looks at global opportunities for the restoration, reintroduction and rewilding of large mammals across the world’s terrestrial ecoregions found that just 15% of the world’s land area supports intact large mammal assemblages.
- The study suggests that returning just 20 large mammal species to their historic habitats could restore intact large mammal communities across almost one-quarter of the Earth’s land area.
- The scientists behind the study recommend large mammal rewilding be incorporated into area-based conservation targets being considered under the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework and into restoration efforts under the U.N.’s Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.

Giant anteaters lead biodiversity resurgence in Argentina’s Iberá
- In 2007, the first pair of giant anteaters was reintroduced into Argentina’s Iberá reserve, a region from which it had gone extinct decades earlier.
- The success of that program created the blueprint for reintroducing other native species, including Pampas deer, giant river otters, and red-and-green macaws.
- The reintroduction program rescued anteaters from hunters and people keeping them as pets in northern Argentina.
- Today, more than 200 anteaters live free in four population centers in the Iberá reserve.

In Argentina, sport fishers are reeling in threatened sharks to save them
- Half of the shark species that inhabit the southwest Atlantic are threatened with extinction, due mostly to sport fishing and bycatch.
- In Argentina, a campaign is underway to get sport fishers to tag and release any sharks they catch.
- The campaign, as well as a ban on the killing of captured sharks, is helping address the problem.

Bare-faced curassows return to Argentina’s Iberá after 50-year absence
- After being missing for 50 years from the Iberá region of Argentina, three bare-faced curassow chicks were born there last year thanks to a reintroduction program that also works with other native species.
- Scientists are also working to reintroduce the curassow into the country’s Chaco forests to strengthen the small wild populations of the bird that remain.
- The main threats to the bare-faced curassow are hunting and loss of habitat due to deforestation.

Urban ecology that saved Argentina’s Rosario held up as a model for others
- The Argentine city of Rosario has over the past two decades developed private-public partnerships to set aside land for farming and create a network of local markets where farmers locally sell their crops.
- Local sustainable farming is seen as a solution to mitigate climate change and promote biodiversity, and Rosario’s urban agriculture program does this by growing food for domestic consumption.
- This reduces greenhouse gas emissions from food transportation, boosts the amount of green space within the city to reduce the urban heat island effect, and allows diverse wildlife populations to thrive alongside crops.
- Rosario’s detailed maps identified vacant land unsuitable for other purposes and reimagined that land to create farms within the city, while collaboration with neighboring jurisdictions has led to the development of an agricultural green belt surrounding Rosario.

‘Cooling the climate for 10,000 years’: How saving wetlands can help save the world
- From the vast frozen mires of the arctic to the peat swamps of Asia: “all wetlands are under threat,” said Jane Madgwick, CEO of Wetlands International. “We’re losing them three times as fast as forests.”
- Peat swamps, or peatlands, are particularly effective at storing carbon, which has accumulated over centuries and even millennia as dead plant matter became trapped in waterlogged soil.
- But if drained or otherwise damaged, peat quickly turns from carbon sink to carbon source.
- As nations race to protect and replant forests in an effort to curtail global warming, wetlands experts such as Madgwick are urging leaders to place similar importance on wetland conservation and restoration.

El Niño takes a toll on southern right whales in the Atlantic Ocean
- Southern right whale populations near Argentina have suffered surprising losses during recent El Niño years.
- Intense warmings in 1997-98 and 2015-16 each killed 4 to 5 percent of right whales in the southwest Atlantic Ocean, researchers estimate.
- If El Niño events worsen, models suggest the encouraging recovery of southern right whales could stall or even reverse.

Hungry like the maned wolf pup: Clips give rare glimpse of elusive canine
- New camera-trap clips show three maned wolf pups nursing and eating regurgitated food from their mother.
- This is the first time this behavior has been observed and documented in wild maned wolves, experts say.
- Wild maned wolves have recently recolonized Iberá National Park in Argentina, thanks to conservation efforts.

Amazon and Cerrado deforestation, warming spark record drought in urban Brazil
- Southern and central Brazil are in the midst of the worst drought in nearly 100 years, with agribusiness exports of coffee and sugar, and the production of hydroelectric power, at grave risk.
- According to researchers, the drought, now in its second year, likely has two main causes: climate change, which tends to make continental interiors both hotter and drier, and the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and Cerrado savanna biomes.
- Deforestation has caused the loss of almost half of the Cerrado’s native vegetation, which helps hold vast amounts of water underground, maintaining aquifers that supply the nation’s rivers with water. In the Amazon, rainforest loss is preventing billions of tons of water vapor from reaching the atmosphere.
- President Jair Bolsonaro acknowledges neither climate change nor deforestation as sources of the drought, but attributes it instead to the country and himself being “unlucky.” The administration’s drought response so far is to reactivate fossil-fuel power plants, which pollute heavily and are costly to operate.

Soy and cattle team up to drive deforestation in South America: Study
- Between 2000 and 2019, the production of soybean in South America has doubled, covering an area larger than the state of California.
- Soybean farms are typically planted in old cattle pastures, and as soy encroaches, pasture is forced into new frontiers, driving deforestation and fires.
- Although soy was found to be largely an indirect driver of deforestation, policies addressing deforestation have to consider multiple commodities at once, such as the relationship between beef and soy.
- Increased commitments by companies to source from “zero-deforestation” supply chains are a promising strategy, but in order to work, the market needs to be more transparent.

‘Dark’ ships off Argentina ring alarms over possible illegal fishing
- A new report from the NGO Oceana revealed that 800 foreign vessels from China, Taiwan, South Korea and Spain conducted 900,000 hours of visible fishing near Argentina’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but that there were more than 600,000 additional hours in which fishing vessels went “dark” by turning off their automatic identification systems (AIS).
- When ships turn off their AIS, there is a strong likelihood that they’re engaging in some kind of illegal activity, such as entering Argentina’s EEZ to illegally fish, the report suggests.
- While China had the highest number of incidences of AIS gaps, the report notes that the Spanish fleet went dark three times as often as the Chinese fleet, and that they spent nearly twice as long with no AIS signal as they did visibly fishing.
- The report also documents that more than 30% of dark vessels eventually traveled to the Port of Montevideo in neighboring Uruguay, a location favored by those involved in illegal fishing. It also notes that more than half of the dark vessels engaged with other ships at sea, most likely to transfer illegally caught fish without needing to go to port.

Giant otter thought to be extinct in Argentina resurfaces. Literally
- Once believed to be locally extinct, a wild giant otter was sighted in Argentina’s Impenetrable National Park. The species hasn’t been seen in the country for about 40 years.
- An expert says the giant otter may have migrated from the Paraguayan Pantanal hundreds of miles away, or that there is a local population in Argentina that’s gone undetected until now.
- Conservationists are also planning to reintroduce giant otters into Argentina’s Iberá National Park.
- A pair of captive otters slated for release recently gave birth to three healthy pups.

Skin in the game? Reptile leather trade embroils conservation authority
- The reptile skin trade is a controversial issue, with some experts saying that harvesting programs help conserve species and provide livelihood benefits, while others say that the trade is fraught with issues and animal welfare concerns.
- From a conservation standpoint, there is evidence that the reptile skin trade is sustainable for some species and in some contexts, but other research suggests that the trade could be decimating wild populations and doing more harm than good.
- Exotic leather is falling out of favor in the fashion industry: Numerous companies and brands have banned products made from reptile skin as well as fur, replacing them with products made from materials such as apple, grape or mushroom leather.
- Experts connected with the IUCN have written open letters and op-eds to lament the decisions of companies to ban exotic leather, arguing that these bans have damaged conservation efforts, but other experts question the IUCN’s unfailing support of an imperfect trade.

Rewilding public lands in Patagonia and beyond: Q&A with Kris Tompkins
- In the early 1990s, Kris and Doug Tompkins began buying up vast amounts of land in Chile and Argentina and setting it aside for conservation.
- Since the early 2000s, their non-profit Tompkins Conservation has donated over 800,000 hectares (2 million acres) of wilderness in Chile and Argentina, which spurred the permanent protection of nearly 6 million hectares (15 million acres) and the establishment of 13 new national parks.
- The Tompkins had performed “a kind of capitalist jujitsu move” as Kris Tompkins put it in her 2020 TED talk: “We deployed private wealth from our business lives and deployed it to protect nature from being devoured by the hand of the global economy.”
- Kris Tompkins spoke about her organization’s conservation work, rewilding, and the costs of our current industrial model during a February 2021 conversation with Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler.

European public roundly rejects Brazil trade deal unless Amazon protected
- The gigantic trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur South American bloc (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay), if ratified, would be the biggest trade deal in history, totaling US $19 trillion.
- However, an extremely poor environmental record by the Mercosur nations, especially Brazil, has become a stumbling block to clinching the agreement. In new polling 75% of respondents in 12 European nations say the EU-Mercosur trade pact should not be ratified if Jair Bolsonaro’s Brazil doesn’t end Amazon deforestation.
- France, the Parliaments of the Netherlands, Austria and Belgium’s Walloon region, have announced they will not endorse the trade pact. The ratification also finds resistance by Ireland and Luxembourg. Portugal’s government appears ready to move forward with ratification without environmental safeguards put in place.

Big cat comeback: Jaguars prowl Argentina’s Iberá Wetlands after 70 years
- Conservationists recently released three jaguars — a mother and two cubs — into Gran Iberá Park in northeastern Argentina’s Corrientes province in an attempt to rewild the local ecosystem.
- Jaguars haven’t been present in the Iberá Wetlands for the past 70 years, after hunting and habitat loss drove them to local extinction.
- The ultimate goal of the jaguar reintroduction program is to reestablish a healthy, genetically diverse population of jaguars in Gran Iberá Park, which has the capacity to hold about 100 jaguars, according to conservationists.

500 years of species loss: Humans drive defaunation across Neotropics
- A new study indicates that human activities, such as overhunting, habitat loss, and fires, have contributed to a more than 56% decline in species in mammal assemblages in the American tropics.
- The study drew on animal inventories at more than 1,000 Neotropical study sites, from studies published in the past 30 to 40 years, but with data going back to the time of European colonization of the American tropics.
- The Amazon and Pantanal wetland regions are considered to be relatively “faunally intact,” according to the study, but the current fires in these regions would be adversely affecting wildlife and their habitats.
- The researchers say they hope their findings can inform effective conservation policies, such as better management and policing of existing protected areas, and efforts to stop illegal hunting, deforestation and fires.

Agrochemicals and industrial waste threaten Argentina’s Gran Chaco
- Farmers in Argentina are using increasing amounts of herbicides and other agrochemicals to boost their crop yields.
- In the country’s Gran Chaco region, the unregulated use of agrochemicals has had devastating ecological effects, including the contamination of water sources that residents depend on.
- The Gran Chaco’s waterways are also under pressure from industrial pollution, heavy metals, oil spills, and arsenic found naturally in underground reservoirs.

The lost forests of the Argentine Gran Chaco
- Data from Argentina’s environment ministry show that Argentina’s section of the Gran Chaco, a dry forest in South America that’s about twice the size of California, has lost around 5 million hectares (12.4 million acres) of native forest in the past two decades.
- Scientists and environmentalists say that administrative irregularities and noncompliance with regulations have allowed the constant expansion of the agricultural and livestock frontier into the Chaco.
- These incursions impact biodiversity, poverty and the frequency of droughts and floods.

Qaramta: Chronicle of a jaguar in love
- For the last ten months, the first jaguar in Argentina’s Chaco province to be fitted with a tracking collar has been moving freely around El Impenetrable National Park.
- The big male’s days are spent walking, hunting, and patrolling the area where an enclosure containing a captive female jaguar is located.
- Park officials and allied conservationists hope to entice the pair to mate when the time is right, to increase the region’s jaguar population, but plans have been delayed due to the pandemic.

In Argentina, a movement to save the Chaco forest hits the COVID-19 wall
- Civil society groups calling for better protection of the Chaco, the largest forest ecosystem in South America after the Amazon, say their efforts have been set back by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures.
- Reports show that deforestation in Argentina increased in the first six months of this year compared to last, and that most of the deforestation of the past 20 years occurred in the Chaco.
- Activists say a major obstacle is the lack of funding for enforcement of the forestry law; since it was enacted in 2007, it has received less than 10% of its prescribed budget.
- Argentina’s environment minister has acknowledged the need for revisions to the law, but activists and lawmakers say he must follow up the rhetoric with action.

Fires in Argentina’s Paraná Delta are burning ‘out of control’
- Hundreds of fires are currently burning through the Paraná Delta region, an important wetland ecosystem that hosts a range of wildlife in Argentina, raising concerns among conservationists.
- The Paraná River is also experiencing extremely low water levels due to a regional drought, although experts say an exact climatic reason for the drought has yet to be determined.
- Experts say most of the fires have been deliberately lit by people, but they are now raging “out of control” due to drought, lack of rainfall and low river levels.

Canadian company positions for mining ban lift in Argentine province
- Yamana Gold, a Canadian mining company, has partnered with a real estate and investment firm in Argentina to handle “all environmental, social, and governance” issues associated with a potential gold mining project in the province of Chubut.
- Mining has been banned in Chubut since 2003, primarily as a result of local protests that have continued through early 2020.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has restricted the movement of Argentina’s citizens, but activists say the moves by Yamana and government leaders toward a reopening of the project are taking advantage of the crisis.

On the prowl: Jaguar population rises in Iguazú Falls region
- After almost losing its jaguar population in the early 2000s, the Atlantic Forest area between Brazil and Argentina has seen the number of the big cats more than double to 105.
- It’s the only place in South America that has registered an increase in the jaguar population, thanks to joint law enforcement by Brazil and Argentina to tackle poaching, and planting of camera traps by researchers, which deter would-be poachers.
- Changing agricultural trends have also helped: livestock ranching used to be the predominant farming activity in the area, but the jaguars would prey on the cattle and sheep, prompting ranchers to kill them in retaliation.
- In the past decade, soybean and corn crops have taken the place of ranching, reducing conflicts between jaguars and farmers.

Map reveals Canadian mining company’s environmental, social conflicts
- The Environmental Justice Atlas released new maps March 2 alleging that Pan American Silver operates mines that don’t have the consent of local communities and that pollute local water supplies — assertions that the company denies.
- In Guatemala, the Canadian mining company gained control of a mine where operations had been suspended because the country’s supreme court ruled that a local indigenous community had not consented to the operation.
- The atlas uses information gathered from local communities to both raise the profile of their struggle and to connect disparate environmental justice groups doing similar work.
- The mine in Guatemala remains closed, pending a new consultation process.

A national park takes shape in Argentina as the forest disappears
- Officially established in October 2014, Argentina’s Impenetrable National Park partially opened to the public in early 2018.
- The park is home to an estimated 600 species of vertebrates including jaguars and giant anteaters. Conservation organizations and Argentina’s National Parks Administration are planning on reintroducing marsh deer to the park, which have been driven to local extinction in most of their Argentinian range.
- Impenetrable National Park is located in the largely semiarid Gran Chaco ecoregion. The Chaco is one of the most deforested areas on the planet, losing more than 2.9 million hectares (7.2 million acres) of its forest between 2010 and 2018. Argentina is home to 60% of the Chaco – but it’s the site of 80% of Chaco deforestation as farmers clear more and more land for cattle and soy.
- Park officials say hunting is also taking a toll on wildlife, and satellite imagery reveals wildfire burned through more than 1,000 hectares of park forest in late 2019.

Saving the Gran Chaco: Conservationists demand protection before it’s too late
- The Gran Chaco is South America’s second-largest forest biome, and is home to thousands of species.
- The Chaco has lost around 20 percent of its forest cover since 1985 as land is cleared for agriculture. The Argentine portion has lost 30 percent.
- In response, a project called the Argentine Gran Chaco 2030 Commitment was created to demand more be done to protect the Chaco. As of Nov. 7, 80 organizations and institutions around the world had signed on in support.

Modern farms need both high- and low-tech farming practices (commentary)
- Farmers across Argentina have had to contend with new and unprecedented pressures. As a third-generation Argentinian farmer, I have seen this first-hand.
- The key to surviving any major change is to adapt, and by embracing both low-tech and high-tech practices, farmers can thrive and prosper even in the face of significant climate and food security challenges.
- The use of biotech seeds, especially, provides farmers with much more flexibility in combating weeds and pests, without having to resort to mechanical production that breaks up the soil. Many countries have been slow, or perhaps reluctant, to adopt this kinds of technology. Yet Argentinian farms have reaped the benefits and are now able to make progress towards more sustainable agriculture.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Having taken a toll in Chile, salmon industry arrives in Argentina
- Argentina’s National Aquaculture Project, signed with Norway in March 2018, aims to spur the development of the salmon industry in Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago at the southern tip of South America.
- Environmentalists and scientists fear that errors committed on the Chilean side of Patagonia will be repeated, to the detriment of the environment on the Argentinian side.
- Among the environmental impacts of the Chilean salmon industry are escapee fish that become established as introduced species, pollution from farms’ waste food and feces, and the overuse of antibiotics.

Feeds: news | india | latam | brasil | indonesia