Argentine authorities have launched a major expansion of the country’s protected-areas system through a variety of means, including agreements with provincial governments, appeals to citizens for contributions and negotiations with large landholders—among them, the armed forces. The initiatives are in various stages of development, with some close to completion, others still being planned and still others barely on the drawing board. But environmentalists here are welcoming what appears to be a serious conservation effort by a government often accused of endangering key ecosystems by shying away from environmental regulation of economically powerful industries such as agriculture, mining and fishing. Analysts here say much of the impetus for the initiative has come from National Parks Administration (APN) President Patricia Gandini, a specialist in marine... [Log in to read more]