By Javier Castro Bugarín |
Río Uruguay (Argentina) (EFE).- The sound of the boat is camouflaged with the slow and calm beating of the waves. The herons take flight, the dragonflies compete in speed, the ants climb up the legs, run over the skin, sting. And there are no humans around: just the boat, its crew, and the wetland.
This is the atmosphere of the Dolores, San Genaro and Campichuelo islands, located in the lower part of the Uruguay River (northeast Argentina). A region of 2,600 hectares, wild and almost unknown, which is destined to become a provincial park and a new epicenter of sustainable tourism.
“In this area there was a lot of economic movement, but, due to cost issues, it became unfeasible. The idea is that there will be employment here again thanks to ecotourism,” Emiliano Ezcurra, director of Banco de Bosques, executing entity of the “Islas y Canales Verdes del río Uruguay” project, told EFE.
This initiative was presented within the framework of World Wetlands Day, which is celebrated this Thursday. These territories, characterized by being totally or partially submerged under water, are essential to curb climate change: they prevent floods, retain greenhouse gases and serve as a home for countless native species.
In Argentina, these ecosystems represent around 21% of the national territory and Congress is still analyzing a wetland law that allows them to be safeguarded.
Kayaks… and nothing else
After half an hour of navigation through inhospitable streams and channels, the visitor reaches the island of San Gennaro. A path leads to the first of the three shelters installed to date. The pristine nature of the road is surprising, with trees and bushes extending the green as far as the eye can see.
Although motor boats are still used to reach the islands, the idea is that only kayaks can transit these waters, an experience that aims to introduce future visitors to this ecosystem through responsible leisure.
“We are doing something similar to what was done in the Perito Moreno Park (southern Argentina), only here, instead of having trails that go from refuge to refuge, we go from refuge to refuge paddling in a kayak”, points out Ezcurra, about some water voyages that have already been enjoyed free of charge by more than 2,000 children in the area.
During walks through the wetland, on foot or by canoe, observers can delight themselves with the native animals of this region, especially inhabited by birds: the black heron, the medium-sized kingfisher, the atí or the common magpie are common on the islands and its surrounding forests.
An environment rich in nuances, colors and sounds that also welcomes less desirable settlers: the so-called “invasive aliens”, such as the black acacia, the blackberry or the ash tree, which are fought by a group of volunteers every weekend.
«Here development is sought with nature, not against nature. From the natural setting you have to work a lot with the exotic theme, but the conservation situation is good. We have the credentials in terms of biodiversity to be a good provincial park,” says Ezcurra.
Brotherhood on the Uruguay River
Like the project in the Perito Moreno Park, “Islas y Canales Verdes del río Uruguay” was financed by Gilbert Butler, an American philanthropist whose foundation promotes initiatives for nature conservation and infrastructure for public use.
Butler bought six islands in the Uruguay River (the three mentioned on the Argentine side and another three on the Uruguayan side) to establish this protected area around them and provide them with refuges and trails, with the aim of returning them to their respective countries and creating a “great binational park”.
«I think that the binational component is the most outstanding characteristic of the project. This place was the scene of an environmental conflict between Uruguay and Argentina and today we can ensure that everything is preserved, with legally binding elements and with real and concrete use for the community”, says Ezcurra.
The director of Banco de Bosques alludes to the installation, fifteen years ago, of a pulp mill on the Uruguay River, near Fray Bentos (Uruguay) and Gualeguaychú (Argentina), located just 50 kilometers south of these islands.
«Argentina had never taken anyone to the International Court in The Hague and we did it with a brother country (…). (Both countries) continue to work on the river’s administrative commission, bilateral relations have been greatly restored and even the president of Uruguay (Luis Lacalle Pou) was rowing with us,” he recalls.
The conservation of wild fauna and flora and the recovery of employment through ecotourism will not be the only elements that will rebuild this river park; also the ties between two neighbors with more similarities than differences.
