Fundación Somuncura protects the biodiversity and natural landscapes of Argentina while promoting sustainable development. It works to involve the government, the private sector, and people across Argentina in conservation actions. With its private reserve network, Fundación Somuncura safeguards species and landscapes of high conservation value, ensuring landowners are invested in the preservation of this natural heritage.
Founded in 1992, Fundación Somuncura currently shares the administration of 25 private reserves that protect more than 50,000 ha in Argentina. Some of these reserves have been established in places where no protected area existed before, while others sit adjacent to Argentina’s national parks and provincial protected areas, acting as corridors, natural buffer zones, and/or areas of sustainable resource use. Fundación Somuncura has brought protection to a wide range of environments, including the Dry Chaco and Humid Chaco, the basins of the Uruguay and Paraná rivers, and the steppes and Atlantic coastline of Patagonia.
Because much of the land in Argentina is owned by agricultural producers and private companies, Fundación Somuncura must work together with these entities to develop sustainable management plans that won’t be detrimental to wildlife. These plans can include legal declaration of protected areas, habitat restoration and removal of invasive species. Outside of this work, Fundación Somuncura operates a number of different programmes that provide environmental education, water treatment, renewable energy, and recycling schemes.
WLT partnered with Fundación Somuncura in 2021 to create the first effective reserve on the Somuncurá Plateau, where invasive species and unsustainable land-use practices are pushing a rich array of endemic species to the brink of extinction. There are fish, frogs, snails and lizards here that are found nowhere else on Earth. Native predators (Puma, Culpeo) and browsers (Guanaco) have also had their numbers thinned following conflicts with local ranchers. Now, thanks to supporters of WLT’s Buy an Acre programme, this embattled wildlife community has been handed a vital lifeline.
This project will protect an initial property of 4,725 ha (11,675 acres) and also fund initial management of the reserve over the first three years. One ranger has already been hired to patrol Somuncurá, monitor its habitats, and protect its native wildlife from hunters. Fundación Somuncura is working with local farmers to manage the movement of their livestock, and these same farmers have also signed an agreement to confirm they will no longer use traps or poison to kill Puma or Culpeo (Andean Fox). Four guard dogs have been provided to deter these native predators from preying on the farmers’ sheep.
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