Yaganes Marine National Park and Namuncurá-Burdwood Bank II National Marine Reserve (Argentina)

South American fur seals glide by National Geographic Pristine Seas divers in the waters of Yaganes off the southern coast of Argentina. Photo credit: Enric Sala/National Geographic.

The Wyss Foundation partnered with Fundación Flora y Fauna Argentina (now Rewilding Argentina) on the designation of the 69,000 km2 Yaganes Marine National Park and the 29,000 km2 Namuncurá-Burdwood Bank II National Marine Reserve in Argentina. Formally designated by the Argentine Congress in December 2018, the marine protected areas more than quadrupled the amount of coastline and marine areas that have received protection by the federal government of Argentina. 

Rewilding Argentina and other Argentine NGOs continue to monitor the implementation of the new protected areas, advocating for an increase in funding for the Argentine National Parks Administration to ensure that they have the resources necessary to properly manage these incredibly biodiverse areas. In 2020, the Wyss Foundation provided $200,000 to help the National Parks Administration repair a boat to conduct patrols and scientific research within these and other Argentine marine reserves.