Iberá National Park Established by Argentine Congress
Image (c) Tompkins Conservation website, News
PRESS RELEASE
December 5, 2018 — Buenos Aires, Argentina
Iberá National Park Established by Argentine Congress
New combined protected area
forms largest nature park in Argentina
On December 5, 2018, the Congress of Argentina passed legislation approving the creation of Iberá National Park, located in northeastern Argentina, ensuring the long-term conservation of the almost 395,000 acres it encompasses. Douglas and Kristine Tompkins established the two foundations through which this land was donated: Conservation Land Trust (CLT) and Flora and Fauna Argentina. The Argentine Congress has now ratified this land’s long-term protection, consistent with Argentina and President Mauricio Macri’s goals to increase Argentina’s protected areas. It is estimated that in 10 years, Iberá Park will receive more than 100,000 visitors each year, promoting economic prosperity as a result of conservation.
The new national park adds to the adjacent 1.3-million-acre Iberá Provincial Park. At a combined approximately 1.76-million acres, Iberá Park is now the largest nature park in Argentina and one of the most biologically diverse areas of the country. Centered on the great Iberá marshlands of Corrientes Province (one of the largest freshwater wetlands complexes in South America), Iberá Park’s diverse habitats of water, grasslands, and forest are home to some 4,000 species of flora and fauna (almost 30 percent of the total recognized in Argentina). The park is also home to the most ambitious program of “rewilding”—efforts to restore natural processes and reintroduce missing species—in South America.
“Today is a day to celebrate,” said Kristine Tompkins, president of Tompkins Conservation. “For the wildlife at home here, for the people of Argentina, and for future generations who will experience this amazing landscape’s beauty and biodiversity, the new park’s designation is a great victory.”
Congressional approval of the law establishing the park reflects collaboration between Tompkins Conservation’s CLT Argentina team, the national and provincial governments, and various other institutions, in addition to the support of Iberá’s surrounding communities.
“After many years of work, the vision of the people of Corrientes and Doug Tompkins to create Iberá National Park is finally fulfilled,” said Sofía Heinonen, Executive Director of CLT Argentina. “With the proclamation of this new National Park, together with the neighboring Provincial Park, the natural and cultural heritage of Iberá is fully protected. The result is a world-class tourist attraction for birding and wildlife watching.”
About Tompkins Conservation
Tompkins Conservation was founded by Kristine and Douglas (1943–2015) Tompkins, business leaders from iconic American clothing brands including The North Face, Esprit, and Patagonia, Inc., who changed the course of their lives more than 25 years ago to devote their funds, time, and passion to help protect wild nature. The Tompkinses concluded that creating large national parks where evolutionary processes could take their course was the most effective way to combat biodiversity loss. National parks represent the “gold standard” of conservation, offering a unique set of ecological, cultural, and economic benefits. To date, the organization and its partners including local and national governments, nongovernmental organizations, scientists, activists, and fellow conservationists have protected roughly 13 million acres of parklands in Chile and Argentina. Tompkins Conservation is the leader in the Americas in “rewilding”—restoring ecosystems and reintroducing wildlife that has disappeared from a region because of human pressures.
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A driving force to curb the worldwide climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis, Tompkins Conservation protects, rewilds, and defends land and marine ecosystems in the Southern Cone through collaborating to create national parks and rewilding key species. Working with public and private partners, the organization has helped to create 13 national parks, protecting 14.5 million acres. The goal is to restore a healthy planet with big, wild, and connected landscapes where animals and plants can thrive. This also means helping to build robust communities that benefit from a healthy natural world.
Kristine McDivitt Tompkins and Douglas Tompkins (1943-2015) founded Tompkins Conservation after leading iconic American clothing brands—Kristine as longtime CEO of Patagonia Inc, and Doug as co-founder of The North Face and Esprit. Changing course in the early 1990s to focus on conservation, they became two of the most successful conservation philanthropists in history. After Doug lost his life in a tragic kayaking accident in 2015, Kristine has continued to build on their foundation. She is now the president of Tompkins Conservation and a UN Environment Patron of Protected Areas.
A 501(c)(3) public charity, Tompkins Conservation carries out conservation projects through the nonprofit network of Rewilding Chile and Rewilding Argentina.