Uruguay didn’t exactly rush to create its conservation-lands network. The country only got around to inaugurating its National System of Protected Areas (Snap) at the end of 2008, in fact—later than all Latin American countries except Haiti. Since then, though, Uruguay has made strides. Among the lands to come under protection was Laguna de Rocha, a 17,000-hectare (42,000-acre) coastal expanse of wetland and grassland that has been named a “site of regional importance” by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN). Laguna de Rocha is the latest of seven tracts to be introduced into the system; four more are expected by the end of this year. “We were one of the first [nations] to join the Treaty on Biodiversity after the... [Log in to read more]