Patagonia and Southern Andean Steppe, Argentina
- The Guanacos of Patagonia Video
- Conservationist, Andres Novaro studies the impacts of natural resource extraction and poaching on the Guanacos of Patagonia.
- ©WCS
- Patagonia Photo
- Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS
This spectacular, high-altitude expanse is one of the most sparsely populated regions on Earth. The Patagonian and Southern Andean Steppe is the last stronghold of the guanaco and Darwin’s rhea and also harbors significant populations of vicuñas and Andean condors. The deer-like rodent mara and two species of armadillo, as well as some 280 species of plants, evolved on these vast, windswept volcanic plateaus.
The Patagonia and Southern Andean Steppe landscape encompasses some 270,000 square miles, with more than 95 percent of this land under private ownership. Human activities, including sheep ranching and natural resource extraction, increasingly threaten this biologically unique ecosystem. Only about 1 percent of the steppe and scrub habitats are currently under strict protection, and the future of the region depends on sound, science-based conservation measures that will protect its remaining wilderness and wildlife.
Fast Facts
- Patagonia was once the domain of the Tehuelches, a nomadic people who depended on the guanacos and rheas that occupied this landscape.
- Rare and endangered Andean cats inhabit these steppes.
- Although they are now prevalent here, sheep are an exotic species that was introduced to the landscape about a century ago.
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Threats and Challenges
Overgrazing by livestock and introduced species pose an ongoing threat to Patagonian wildlife and habitats and are resulting in severe desertification of approximately 30 percent of the steppe. In addition, oil exploration and drilling by multinational companies destroy large swaths of habitat and create roads that provide easier access for sport hunters and poachers.
Most of Patagonia is in the hands of private landowners with extensive ranches; hardly any of the landscape is under government protection. This makes conservation a challenging affair. To protect this ecosystem and its wildlife, we seek out creative solutions, such as partnering with local landowners and companies that operate in the area.
WCS Responds
Since the early 1980s, WCS has supported wildlife research in the Patagonian steppe and scrub. Since then, we have expanded our focus to train young, local conservationists who will seed new initiatives in the region. We also partner closely with Argentine organizations and ranchers to promote conservation on private rangelands between the region’s few protected areas. Our goal is to restore and maintain functional populations of native wildlife in connected areas, and to achieve conservation-oriented management of private lands. Research sponsored by WCS has provided an initial understanding of the effects of sheep grazing, exotic species, and hunting on Patagonian wildlife and habitats. We work to identify, implement, and manage a series of landscapes throughout Patagonia that will link core protected areas to surrounding low-impact, human-use zones. Our staff and scientists support the Argentine National Park Service in the identification of priority sites for new protected areas, and seek means for creating others through land purchases.
WCS works with the multinational mining and oil companies that operate in the landscape, as well as local residents and governments, to ensure the region’s wilderness and wildlife continue to thrive long after the oil and mineral stores are depleted. In 2006, Repsol, the major oil company operating in the vicinity of Auca Mahuida Reserve, committed $10 million in an effort to mitigate the environmental impacts of its activities. Under WCS’s supervision, the company closed 160 abandoned oil trails, effectively blocking poachers from accessing about 850 acres.