Statement: Argentine Leaders Establish Two New Marine Protected Areas
South American fur seals glide by National Geographic Pristine Seas divers in the waters of Yaganes off the southern coast of Argentina. Photo by Enric Sala/National Geographic.
WASHINGTON, DC – The Argentine Congress has formally established two new marine protected areas off of the coast of Tierra del Fuego in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The new protected areas, Yaganes and the expansion of Namuncurá-Burdwood Bank, more than quadruple the amount of coastline and marine areas that have received formal protection by the federal government of Argentina.
With today’s news, the Wyss Campaign for Nature issued the following statement from Senior Fellow and Communications Director Greg Zimmerman:
“This historic vote by the Argentine Congress establishes a lasting legacy of ocean conservation for current and future generations of Argentines. Thanks to the hard work by government leaders – including President Mauricio Macri, Chief of Cabinet Marcos Peña, Governor of Tierra del Fuego Rosana Bertone, and the Environment Minister of Tierra del Fuego Mauro Perez Toscani – alongside local conservation advocates like Fundación Flora y Fauna Argentina, these two new protected areas will help to safeguard the incredible sea life off Argentina’s coasts. Today is a day worthy of celebration in Argentina and around the world.”
Prior to today’s action by the Argentine Congress, Argentina had established one federally-managed marine protected area, the 28,000km2 Namuncurá – Burdwood Bank, created in 2013. With the creation of the 69,000km2 Yaganes and the 29,000km2 expansion of Namuncurá-Burdwood Bank, Argentina has designated 126,000km2 of critical ocean areas as marine protected areas.
Argentina is a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity which includes a target for countries to protect 10% of their oceans by 2020. President Mauricio Macri stated his strong support for Argentina living up to its commitments under the Convention during his 2015 campaign, and his administration has made marked progress in establishing new protected areas. In fact, today’s designations mark the 5th and 6th new parks created in 2018 alone.##