Iberá National Park
Iberá National Park is a national park in Argentina located in the northeast province of Corrientes. The national park adjoins the 5,530 km2 Iberá Provincial Park to the southeast. The national park and provincial park are both within the Iberá Provincial Nature Reserve, a conservation area of 13,245 km2 created in 1982. The combined protected area is the largest in Argentina.
Iberá National Park | |
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Parque Nacional Iberá | |
IUCN category II (national park) | |
Aerial view over the Iberá Wetlands | |
Location | Corrientes Province |
Coordinates | 28°7′2.6″S 57°17′17.5″W |
Area | 195,094 ha (753.26 sq mi) |
Designation | National Park |
Established | 2018 |
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The national park protects a portion of the Iberá Wetlands, one of the largest wetlands in the world. In 2002 an area of 24,500 ha (245 km2; 95 sq mi) was listed as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar convention.
Iberá National Park was created by an act of the Argentinian Congress on December 5, 2018. The park was created from former private cattle ranches acquired since 1999 by the Conservation Land Trust–Argentina, a private foundation established by the conservationists Doug and Kristine Tompkins. In 2015 the Conservation Land Trust donated the lands to the Argentine state to create the park.
The Conservation Land Trust removed most of the cattle from the lands they acquired, and stopped the practice of burning the land to increase cattle fodder. Managed fires have been used to encourage recovery of wild plants and animals, and interior fences were removed to allow wildlife to move freely. Conservation Land Trust is hoping to develop sustainable eco-tourism to support the local economy and build support for further conservation.
The national park along with the combined Iberá protected area is home to more than 4,000 species of flora and fauna, including more than 360 species of birds. The park is a stronghold of the vulnerable species marsh deer and strange-tailed tyrant and contains large populations of capybara, yacare caiman and broad-snouted caiman. The park has reintroduced populations of jaguar, pampas deer, anteater and red-and-green macaw.