MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina: Chubut creates Patagonia Azul Provincial Park

Chubut's Atlantic seaside accounts for 78% of the province's human population

Chubut, Argentina, has established the Patagonia Azul Provincial Park, a new Natural Protected Area (NPA) spanning 295,135 hectares along its marine coast. Stretching from Cabo Dos Bahías to south of Bahía Bustamante, the park is connected by Provincial Route 1 for tourist access.

This initiative, led by the Ministry of Tourism and Protected Areas, aims to conserve marine biodiversity and position Chubut as a leader in marine conservation.

The park, part of the UNESCO-recognized Patagonia Blue Biosphere Reserve, hosts diverse species like whales, sea lions, and penguins, and supports sustainable development.

An agreement with the Rewilding Foundation donated 16,500 hectares of Estancia San Miguel, renamed Portal Isla Tova, to serve as an entrance gate, with added infrastructure like ranger facilities, campgrounds, and trails.

This NPA complements Chubut’s existing 16 protected areas, enhancing ecosystem protection and sustainable tourism.

The creation of a Natural Protected Area complementary to other provincial and interjurisdictional protected areas benefits local biodiversity and also turns Chubut into an example to be followed by other coastal provinces, demonstrating that sustainable development and ecosystem protection can go hand in hand, the provincial Tourism Ministry argued.

The new natural marine protected area is a biodiverse region, with islands, bays, reefs and oceanographic processes that make it key for marine life where key species such as Humpback Whale, Sei Whale, Sea Lions, Magellanic Penguin, Giant Petrel, Imperial Cormorant, as well as macroalgae forests, islands and rocky intertidal areas that allow the development of fish and marine invertebrates of interest converge.

According to Chubut authorities, 50% of the NPAs are located in the Patagonian Sea coastal corridor, an area accounting for 78% of the total human population. Hence, a sustainable use of resources and the conservation of biodiversity in the area are essential.