The 8th-largest country in the world and the 2nd-largest country in South America, Argentina is a land of geographic and ecological extremes. From the stark summit of Aconcagua—the highest peak in the Americas—across the windswept Patagonian plains, to the lush, subtropical rainforests surrounding the world-famous Iguazu Falls, Argentina hosts a spectacular range of plant and wildlife:

• Nearly 10,000 species of plants;
• Over 300 species of mammals, including the vulnerable pudu, the world's smallest deer, measuring just 18 inches at the shoulder;
• Over 300 species of birds, including the Andean condor, the world's largest flying bird.

Although Argentina boasts one of South America's oldest park systems, only a small portion of country's territory is under official protection. The Conservancy will work with conservation partners already operating in Argentina to help effectively preserve millions of acres.

The Conservancy's work in Argentina will apply three core conservation strategies:

Sustainable Sheep Grazing

In the south of Argentina, up to 90% of private land is used for grazing sheep. Because grazing large herds of sheep can cause extreme habitat loss, desertification, and erosion into lakes and rivers, the Conservancy will apply its decades of global experience working with ranchers to promote sustainable grazing practices in the country's Patagonian grasslands. 

Protection of Public Areas

Working with partner organizations and government agencies, the Conservancy will help strengthen the network of federally and provincially protected public areas.

Conservation on Private Land

Because 90% of Argentine land is privately owned, the Conservancy will work with partners and local landowners to create conservation incentives and tools and to implement innovative and effective long-term conservation strategies.

Continuing Partnerships

Although without an Argentina office until now, the Conservancy has supported conservation efforts for several years through work with partner organizations by:

• Financing an ecoregional assessment of the Gran Chaco region stretching across Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay, which led to investments in conservation work in all four countries;
• Working with Argentine, Brazilian, and Paraguayan partner organizations to conserve the interior Atlantic Forests;
• Assisting Fundación Nequén in developing the first conservation easement in Argentina.

The Conservancy’s initial official conservation work in Argentina will be concentrated in the country’s Patagonian grasslands—one of the world’s least protected and most threatened habitats.

Patagonian Grasslands

Like the rugged cowboy roaming the lonely plains of the American Wild West, the image of the untamable and solitary gaucho is embroidered into the fabric of the Argentine consciousness.  But southern Argentina and the western United States share something else in common: grasslands in extreme danger.

Because grasslands, like forests, are remarkably  efficient at taking carbon out of the atmosphere, their protection in the face of global climate change is important not just to locals, but to everyone on the planet.

But in both southern Argentina and the western United States where ranching on grasslands has shaped economic and cultural development, over a century of grazing has left some landscapes nearly barren, devoid of natural vegetation and leeching silts and soils into nearby rivers and streams. From California to West Virginia, the Conservancy is playing a key role in revitalizing some of those habitats, and is working with ranchers and governments to protect those that still remain pristine.

The Conservancy is now taking decades of sustainable ranching and land management experience to Argentina.  Because up to 90% of private lands in Patagonia are used for year-round sheep grazing of flocks often too large for their lands, the grasslands are facing extreme danger. Teaming up with local environmental organizations and governments, the Conservancy will work with partners to preserve an area of grasslands nearly as large as Florida.

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Harold E. Malde (Laguna los "Juncos," Argentina); Photo © Harold E. Malde (Yellow Orchid); Photo © Tim Davis/Corbis (Sheep); Photo © Harold E. Malde (Guanacos).