Episode 157: The Jaguar’s Path – Rewilding a Continental Corridor with Sebastian Di Martino
October 17, 2025
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe to Rewilding Earth Podcast: Spotify | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio | Email | RSS | More
Sebastián Di Martino, Conservation Director, Rewilding Argentina. Photo by Jorge Chacón
A biologist with a lifelong dedication to conservation, Sebastián Di Martino began his involvement with environmental organizations at the age of 13. He earned a degree in Biology in his native Argentina and a Master’s in Natural Protected Areas in Spain before working with the Directorate of Natural Protected Areas of the Province of Neuquén.
As Conservation Director for Rewilding Argentina since 2015, Sebastián oversees all species reintroduction and environmental restoration efforts. He is a firm believer that rewilding is the critical strategy needed to bring wildlife back to Argentina’s magnificent landscapes.
The Jaguar Rivers Initiative
The first multi-country effort to create a massive wildlife corridor in the heart of South America. Uniting successful grassroots nonprofits in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay, the initiative will restore ecosystems, bring back key species, and develop nature-based economies in a new cross-border model that also addresses the mass extinction crisis and climate instability on a global scale.
The initiative is centered around four pillars:
• Arks: Large intact ecosystems with keystone species, restored and rewilded to become sources of wildlife dispersal.
• Buffer Areas: Surrounding zones where restorative economies promote coexistence and extend protection.
• Stepping Stones: Smaller wildlife refuges along corridors, often private reserves, that enable safe dispersal and reduce human-wildlife conflicts.
• Rivers and Floodplains: Vital corridors for connectivity, requiring healthy ecological flows; safeguarded through citizen guardianship, monitoring, and strong policies. (Read more…)
Show Notes
Overview:
In this episode of the Rewilding Earth Podcast, host Jack Humphrey speaks with Sebastián Di Martino, Conservation Director of Rewilding Argentina, about the ambitious Jaguar Rivers Initiative. They discuss the challenges and triumphs of reintroducing jaguars and other species, building ecological corridors across South America, and the critical role of community engagement and political will in large-scale conservation. Sebastián shares insights from decades of work, the importance of connectivity for all wildlife, and the bold vision required to restore ecosystems at a continental scale.
Topics Covered:
- The Jaguar Rivers Initiative: vision and scope
- Rewilding Argentina’s success with jaguar reintroduction
- The importance of genetic diversity and population connectivity
- Overcoming political and social challenges in conservation
- Community-based ecotourism and economic transformation
- Reintroduction of other species, including giant river otters
- Lessons for conservationists in the US and beyond
- The future of continental-scale rewilding and collaboration across borders
Extra Credit
Watch Kris Tompkins introduce the Jaguar Rivers Initiative, a bold cross-border effort to restore and protect ecosystems at a continental scale.
- Stay up to date on the great work Rewilding Argentina is doing! Get on their mailing list and socials to follow their progress.
- Read more about the Jaguar Rivers Initiative
Director of Digital Outreach (D.O.D.O.) for The Rewilding Institute
Host and Producer of the Rewilding Earth Podcast
Jack started Rewilding work as Executive Director of Sky Island Alliance in the mid-1990’s, organizing the Sky Island Wildlands Network design, ripping up illegal roads on forest service lands, installing wolf acclimatization pens on Ted Turner’s Ladder Ranch & conducting howling surveys to help make way for the final stage of the Lobo reintroduction program in the Southwest.
Through the years, Jack has worked with Dave Foreman and the Rewilding Gang to further Rewilding initiatives and education.
