Argentina: Protecting shorebirds at Laguna Mar Chiquita

Conservation Value:

Laguna Mar Chiquita is a Hemishperic level Western Shorebird Reserve Network Site with millions of shorebirds and other waterbirds.  It is the 5th largest saline lake in the world and the largest in South America.  It is hosts over 500,000 Wilson’s Phalaropes, and up to 20,000 Golden Plovers, 15,000 Lesser Yellowlegs, 15,000 White-rumped Sandpipers, and thousands more of Hudsonian Godwits, Pectoral Sandpipers, and Stilt Sandpipers.  In addition to shorebirds there are 70,000 Chilean Flamingos nesting there and 1,000 Andean Flamingos winter there.

Actions & Results:

There is a major opportunity to conserve 270,000 ha of wetlands that lie in the province of Santiago de Estero as part of the proposed Ansenuza National Park. This is an unexpected development, as previously the government of Santiago de Estero had not shown interest in being part of the park proposal covering adjacent Cordoba province. To take advantage of this opportunity, ICFC has responded to the request of Aves Argentinas, Birdlife International, and the Governor of the province to complete a land tenure survey of the area, the essential first step in the park designation process.