Fundación Hábitat y Desarrollo’s (FHD) mission in Argentina is to protect natural environments, endangered species and promote sustainable development in a fair society, promoting the joint action of the State, civil society and the private sector.
Founded in 1992, FHD currently shares the administration of over 25 reserves that protect more than 570,000 ha (1,408,500 acres) 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. FHD 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, FHD 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.
WLT partnered with FHD 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.
With WLT support FHD are continuing to protect and expand the Somuncurá Plateau Reserve, and in collaboration with Fundación Somuncura, who implement activities at the reserve, FHD are working to restore the aquatic habitat of the Plateau to benefit El Rincon Stream Frog and Naked Characin (a type of fish), both of which are Critically Endangered.
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