Since 1989, FPN has worked to improve and consolidate the management of the coastal zone and the Patagonian sea to preserve its biodiversity and wild beauty, ensure that development is sustainable and to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants who depend on these resources, in a scenario of transparency in public management based on strong community participation.
These objectives were developed within the framework of the project “Consolidation and Implementation of the Management Plan for the coastal zones of Patagonia for the conservation of biodiversity” (CPMC 2003-2009).
This project was based on the achievements of a first phase called “Integrated Management Plan for the Patagonian Coastal Zone” (PMZCP 1993-1996). This produced a diagnosis of the state of conservation of coastal-marine biodiversity in Argentine Patagonia and the threats it faces.
Both projects were funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as the executing agency and FPN as the executing agency.
Conserve biodiversity through integrated management.
Implemented in the four coastal provinces of Argentine Patagonia (Río Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego), this initiative was designed based on:
Strengthening the institutional framework for long-term science-based planning and management.
The adoption of productive practices and use of natural resources that are consistent with conservation.
The establishment of a network of protected coastal areas in Patagonia.
The development of public awareness programmes that showcase the value of marine and coastal biodiversity.
In this framework, FPN was particularly successful in achieving the active participation of a large number of people in the identification and implementation of project initiatives. Spanning some 20 years, both projects were carried out by teams of professionals, researchers and technicians hired by FPN and accompanied by officials, professionals and technicians from more than 100 government institutions and civil society organizations.
Between 2010 and 2014, as the third phase of the Patagonian Coastal Zone Management Plan for the protection of coastal biodiversity, FPN implemented the project “Inter-jurisdictional System of Coastal-Marine Protected Areas” (SIAPCM), also with funding from the FMM (GEF) and UNDP as the executing agency.
This project incorporated the province of Buenos Aires into the four provinces of Patagonia to cover 5,000 km of coastline, from Punta Rasa (in the province of Buenos Aires) to the Beagle Channel (in the province of Tierra del Fuego). Using an ecosystem approach and involving local communities in broad, multi-sector participatory management planning, FPN worked with the national government of Argentina and the five coastal provincial governments to strengthen coastal-marine protected areas with more effective practices and greater funding, creating a national system that articulates them, expanding coverage and creating new marine protected areas; all this to guarantee the long-term conservation of the biodiversity of this region, considered of global importance.
Coastal pollution censuses of the Argentine Republic
In September 1995, the Patagonia Natural Foundation carried out the “1st Coastal Pollution Census of the Argentine Republic” which covered the area from San Clemente del Tuyú to Ushuaia.
To achieve this, the FPN counted on the voluntary support of NGOs, municipal and provincial governments of the states that have coastlines, academic and research institutions and thousands of Argentines of different ages, different jobs and multiple professions. On September 3 of that year, some 3,200 people surveyed 2,100 kilometers of coastline. The volunteers recorded the data on garbage found in the intertidal zone and the presence of fauna (particularly penguins) in forms prepared for that purpose. Twelve years after the first census, in September 2007, FPN replicated that experience by once again calling on volunteers concerned about the impact of anthropogenic activities on the fragile coastal ecosystem and also to find out what happened in the last 12 years in the Argentine coastal zone. Once again, more than 3,000 volunteers attended the meeting, each walking a little, managing to survey more than 2,000 kilometers of Argentine coastline.
Based on the results obtained in both censuses, some of the conclusions were:
Acting on organic material produces a mixture of gases (with a high methane content) which is called biogas. Biogas is an excellent fuel and the result of this process generates certain residues with a high concentration of nutrients which can be used as fertilizer and can be used fresh, since the anaerobic treatment eliminates bad odors.
Satellite tracking of right whales from the Valdés Peninsula.
The satellite tracking project for southern right whales (siguiendoballenas.org) began in 2014 within the framework of the International Whaling Commission’s Management Plan for the Conservation of the Southern Right Whale in the Southwest Atlantic. Between 2014 and 2022, it has made it possible to understand the trajectories of 65 individuals along the Argentine maritime coast, migratory routes, and feeding areas in the southwest Atlantic and subantarctic seas. In its seventh season (2022-23), we added 22 more whales, totaling 87 monitored whales.
Satellite tracking has also allowed us to learn details of the behaviour of this whale population that have not been described until now: their use of the northern Patagonian gulfs, their speed and daily travel distances, among others.
Knowing what whales do on their oceanic journeys provides valuable information for their conservation, because it allows us to locate the key environments for their life cycle. In addition, it generates relevant information to support the importance of marine protected areas and to develop recommendations for regulating human activities (fishing, oil and shipping) with potential impact on large marine mammals.
Using state-of-the-art satellite transmitters, we can know the location of each individual at sea, with a frequency of several positions per day. The analysis of this data, associated with oceanographic variables, allows us to know how they use the various marine environments, whether they are moving or feeding. After a few months, the devices are removed without having affected the health or behaviour of the individuals carrying them.
The extraordinary information generated by this project is extremely useful. The results from previous years, those obtained from satellite monitoring this season and in the future, will be key to the management and conservation of this emblematic species.
The project is possible thanks to the joint efforts of the CESIMAR-CONICET Marine Mammal Laboratory, CIMAS-CONICET, ESCiMar of the Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Fundación Patagonia Natural, Instituto Aqualie, Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas, Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Southern Right Whale Health Monitoring Program, University of California Davis – Wildlife Health Center and Wildlife Conservation Society Argentina.
This season (2022-23), researchers from Wildlife Computers, the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (Denmark) and the Marine Mammal Research, Dept. of Ecoscience – Aarhus University (Denmark) joined the team.
For more information, visit: https://siguiendoballenas.org/
Work with native people
Between 2016 and 2018, FPN carried out the project “Strategic support to territories and areas conserved by indigenous peoples and local communities (TICCA) in Argentina • ICCA Argentina Project”.
(ARG/SGP/OP6/Y1/ICCA-GSI/2016/01) of the Small Grants Programme (SGP) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
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The “Global Support Initiative for Indigenous Conservation Territories and Areas Conserved by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities” (GSI-TICCA) is channeled through the GEF-PPD, and aims to improve the recognition, support and effectiveness of biodiversity conservation, the promotion of sustainable livelihoods and resilience to climate change, in accordance with specific criteria of the Global Strategy for Biodiversity Conservation 2020 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (Aichi Targets 11, 14 and 18). Fundación Patagonia Natural (FPN) was selected in May 2016 by the PPD as the civil society organization to implement the project, which was completed at the end of 2018 after holding five “regional workshops” with representatives of indigenous organizations and communities. In 2015, FPN was contracted by the Regional Office for South America of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN-South) to carry out consulting services for the systematization of the project “Communities of the Páramos: Strengthening capacities and coordination for adaptation to the effects of Climate Change”, together with national organizations: Randi Randi and Ecopar in Ecuador, Instituto de Montaña in Peru, Asocio Tropenbos Colombia and the Alexander Von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute in Colombia; funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland. Read more
Native Forest and Community Project
Between 2017 and 2019, FPN was selected nationally by the “Native Forests and Community Project” (IBRD Loan No. 8493-AR – UNDP 15/004) executed by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Nation (UNDP PROJECT ARG 15/004 MAyDS of the Nation) for technical assistance for the formulation of “Comprehensive Community Plans” (PICs) in Creole and indigenous communities in five provinces of Argentina.
The idea is that the best way to care for forests is to strengthen the communities that inhabit them. The Native Forests and Community (PBNyC) project promotes and facilitates the rational use of forests and strengthens communities so that they can remain in their territories with the support of the goods and services that they offer. The aim is to promote productive use through the implementation of sustainable forest management plans that benefit small producers, indigenous and peasant communities in Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Salta, Jujuy and Misiones.
The project will reach some 150,000 beneficiaries who will have access to works, goods, equipment, training and information, and its implementation will be carried out through five areas of investment and application. FPN worked on technical assistance for the formulation of thirteen “Comprehensive Community Plans” (PICs), nine in the Province of Santiago del Estero and four in the Province of Chaco; deploying the technical team to carry out field actions and organizing and carrying out workshops with seventeen local communities.
In the province of Santiago del Estero, work was done with the communities of San Antonio, Santa Lucia, Lujan, Campo de Mayo and New York (Copo District, Monte Quemado Municipality); Saladillo (Alberdi District, Huachana Municipality); Retiro, Buen Lugar (Copo District, San José Boquerón Municipality); San José (Alberdi District, Santos Lugares Municipality); Pampa de los Guanacos North (Copo District, Pampa de los Guanacos Municipality); Malvinas North (Copo District, Pampa de los Guanacos Municipality); Malvinas Center (Copo District, Pampa de los Guanacos Municipality); Pampa de los Guanacos West (Copo District, Pampa de los Guanacos Municipality). In the province of Chaco, the same was done with the communities of Pozo La Gringa, El Milagro, El Zapallar and Maulle (General Güemes District, Miraflores Municipality).
By mid-2019, the nine PICs developed in the Province of Santiago del Estero were completed and presented, and the four PICs in the Province of Chaco are in their final stage of work.
Project Support for the preparation for REDD+
REDD+ is the mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that seeks to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, promote conservation, sustainable management of forests and the increase of forest carbon stocks.
What is the FCPF Project?
The REDD+ Readiness Support Project is funded with resources from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), Grant No. TF019086 (called the FCPF Project); implemented through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (hereinafter IBRD or World Bank), and executed by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Nation (MAyDS). The objective of the Grant is to support the preparation efforts for the implementation of REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, conservation, sustainable management of forests and increasing forest carbon stocks) in the Argentine Republic, in particular those activities that focus on the development of the national REDD+ strategy, which in Argentina is the National Action Plan for Forests and Climate Change (PANByCC) and on the implementation of the Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA).
The PANByCC constitutes Argentina’s REDD+ Strategy. The REDD+ process was built with the support of the UN-REDD National Programme (UN-REDD PN), through participatory consultation processes and activities developed within the framework of the National Climate Change Cabinet. Based on a mandate from the UNFCCC, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) designed a mechanism to channel funds to countries that have managed to reduce emissions, based on the implementation of REDD+ activities. These payments are called results-based payments. The REDD+ process in Argentina, through the UN-REDD PN, has completed its first stage with the structuring of the PANByCC and raised the first inputs in the identification of risks, impacts and benefits, the result of a broad multi-sector participation process with key actors, both national and subnational. Likewise, it completed the rest of the requirements so that the country can access financing from the GCF’s REDD+ Results-Based Payments Pilot Program. In this sense, within the framework of the FCPF Project, it is hoped to complete the second stage of participatory analysis of risks, impacts and social and environmental benefits; and to design tools to support the implementation of the PANByCC. This analysis will be carried out in dialogues with key actors, taking advantage of the participation platforms that already exist. Likewise, it is expected to structure an environmental and social management framework, which contains measures for prevention and mitigation of such risks and impacts, and enhances benefits; together with associated environmental and social management frameworks for each of the safeguards. To comply with the above, the FCPF project will be carrying out three very important processes, which will be the result of a combination of analytical and participatory processes with key actors:
*Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA)
This consists of the identification and analysis of potential social and environmental risks, impacts and benefits, individual and cumulative, derived from the implementation of the PANByCC.
*Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF)
This consists of identifying environmental and social management measures to prevent and/or mitigate identified risks and impacts and enhance social and environmental benefits.
*Complaints and Suggestions Response and Resolution Mechanism (MRRRS).
Early complaints response system through which citizens will have the possibility of making requests, queries, suggestions, complaints and/or requests for information regarding the implementation of the PANByCC, the FCPF Project and the preparation and implementation of REDD+ in the country.
The FCPF project, with the support of Fundación Patagonia Natural (FPN) and Asesoramiento Ambiental Estratégico (AAE), will carry out the SESA, ESMF and MRRRS processes during 2020 and 2021. It aims to be a participatory, multi-sectoral and representative process of all forest regions in the country.
