Patagonia Steppe

Patagonia, one of the most sparsely populated regions on Earth, is the last stronghold of the guanaco and Darwin’s rhea. The deer-like rodent mara, two species of armadillo, and the mouse opposum, as well as some 280 species of endemic plants, evolved on the expansive, windswept volcanic plateaus. Yet wildlife populations have been greatly reduced by habitat modification and overgrazing by introduced sheep. Since the early 1980s, WCS has supported wildlife research in the Patagonian steppe and scrub. In 1999, WCS began integrating research with training and capacity-building for Argentine natural resource institutions. The program is expanding its focus to a landscape conservation approach that addresses the urgent need to implement conservation in this biologically unique, severely threatened ecosystem.

The Human Aspect
Patagonia was once the domain of the Tehuelches, a nomadic people who depended on the abundant guanacos and lesser rheas that occupied this vast landscape. Currently over 95% of the land is privately owned, and most has been dedicated to sheep husbandry during the past century. WCS is working closely with Argentine partner organizations and ranchers to promote conservation on private rangelands between the region’s protected areas.

Threats
The major threats to Patagonian wildlife and habitats are overgrazing by livestock and introduced species. Grazing has resulted in severe desertification of approximately 30% of the steppe. In addition, oil exploration and drilling destroy large areas of habitat and create roads that provide increased access for sport hunters of native wildlife. Finally, most of Patagonia is in the hands of private landowners with extensive ranches. Only about 1% of the steppe and scrub ecosystems is currently under strict protection.

WCS Activities
Research sponsored by WCS has provided an initial understanding of the effects of sheep grazing, exotic species, and hunting on Patagonian wildlife and habitats. By training university students, we have begun to build a small force of conservationists who will seed new initiatives in the region. Training government personnel has allowed us to strengthen the institutional capacity of natural resource agencies in Patagonia. The landscape approach that we are currently initiating involves the identification, implementation, and management of a series of “Tehuelche landscapes” throughout Patagonia. These landscapes will maintain connectivity between core protected areas and surrounding, low-impact human-use areas. The approach was developed in conjunction with Argentine agencies. Because of the broad scope of the initiative, its implementation must include these and other local institutions, plus landowners and occupants, in order to be successful.

Important Next Steps

• Select and begin implementation of Tehuelche landscapes. We have begun work at Auca Mahuida Provincial Reserve in Neuquén, and are identifying other potential sites.
• Continue research on landscape species and expand population surveys. We are studying aspects of the ecology of wide-ranging landscape species that are crucial to their management and conservation, such as dispersal patterns of guanacos and the role of puma predation on the recovery of guanaco populations.
• Support the Argentine National Park Service in the identification of priority sites for new protected areas.
• Seek means for creating new protected areas through land purchases and/or conservation easements.
• Support new and ongoing efforts to develop integrated sustainable wildlife management as an alternative or a complement to traditional sheep production.
• Provide scientific expertise and management recommendations to emerging conservation programs in Argentina’s San Guillermo National Park and properties in Chilean Tierra del Fuego.