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Argentina Nature



Nature

Argentina's natural wonders are one of its chief joys. Its remarkable diversity of habitats, ranging from subtropical jungles to subantarctic icesheets, is complemented by an unexpected juxtaposition of species: parrots foraging alongside glaciers, or shocking-pink flamingos surviving bitter sub-zero temperatures on the stark Andean Altiplano. However, despite the protection afforded by a relatively well-managed national park system and several highly committed environmental pressure groups, many of the country's ecosystems are under threat.

Argentina is one of the world's leading destinations for ornithologists, with over a thousand species of birds - ten percent of the world's total - having been recorded here. It also has several destinations where you can reliably spot mammals and other fauna, notably the Esteros de Ibera swampland in Corrientes and the Peninsula Valdes coastal reserve in Chubut, although for the most part you'll require patience and luck to see the country's more exotic denizens. Though the divisions are too complicated to list fully, we've covered Argentina's most distinctive habitats, along with the species of flora and fauna typical to each.

The country's precious environmental heritage is under threat on numerous fronts, however. Illegal hunting is often hard to control but, as ever, by far and away the most pressing issue is habitat loss . The chaco is a good case in point. Whereas environments such as the wet chaco have long felt the strain of population and land clearance, pressures have increased at an alarming rate in the dry chaco. Previously, the lack of water in the Impenetrable was the flora and fauna's best asset. Nowadays, climate change has seen rainfall levels increase, and irrigation projects are fast opening up areas of the Impenetrable to settlement and agriculture, with a continued, desperately poorly controlled exploitation of mature woodland for timber or charcoal and land clearance ( desmonte ) for crops such as cotton. This comes on top of a century of ruthlessly exploitive forestry by companies such as the British owned El Forestal, which completely transformed the habitat of entire provinces - Santiago del Estero, for example, saw the export of an estimated 240 million railway sleepers of quebracho colorado in the space of seventy years. Forestry in other areas of the country - notably in Misiones and Tierra del Fuego - is also giving cause for alarm. Hydroelectric projects in the northeast of the country have destroyed valuable habitats along the Urugua'i and Parana rivers, and overfishing has severely depleted stocks in the latter and in the ocean, where controls are notoriously lax.

Fortunately, though, the outlook isn't completely

© 2003 by Rough Guides Ltd. as trustee for its Authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved. Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd. Buy the book here! The Rough Guide to Argentina

bleak. Environmental consciousness is slowly gaining ground (especially amongst the younger generation); the national parks system is expanding with the help of international loans; and committed national and local pressure groups such as the Fundacion de Vida Silvestre and Asociacion Ornitologica del Plata (both based in Buenos Aires), Proyecto Lemu (based in Epuyen), Finis Terrae (based in Ushuaia) and Proyecto Orca (based in Puerto Madryn) are ensuring that ecological issues do not get ignored


your food is yummy

isabella says "i think yalls food is super dooper yummy keep up the good work
"

what

samanth says "nothing. you can survive on your own. dont go there its a horrible place."

what you need

katie says "bring lots of food and water. try to bring non perishable food. and bring warm and cold clothes. you will need it."

Buenos Aires City of Design

Bob Frassinetti says "In August 2005 Buenos Aires was appointed City of Design by the UNESCO. This is recognition the city of “good airs” shares with other top notch design areas of the world such as Berlin, Montreal.



This appointment evidences recognition towards what Buenos Aires is doing in this particular area, and it cannot be understood if not put in perspective to the recent boom that took place in this area recently. BA features a constant flow of movement in terms of design, from mind-blowing creations to average regular, items the broadness of the design movement in the Argentine capital provides a wide rainbow of options featuring something for every taste.



Buenos Aires has been among the firsts of the American Continent to take upon the challenge of design together with Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Mendoza in Argentina –as well-. The turning point in contemporary design in South America can be dated at the end of the 1950s and all throughout the 60s. The decade of 1960 was a strong decade for innovation, creation and design in the deepest sense of the words. The Arts in general had a strong input back then, and design was not an exception, from aesthetics to usefulness, Argentina has been taking upon the challenge of designing new and innovative objects ever since. After a couple of decades of ups and downs, ins and outs, always in tune with the general panorama of what was going on in our country, today, Buenos Aires is breeding and furthering some interesting aesthetic and conceptual approaches to objects.



In terms of industrial design today in Argentina, there are at several different disciplines working in an avant-garde creations and innovating in theory and practice in this sense. The range goes from industrial products to vehicles, furniture and lighting, making of Buenos Aires a design spot pretty much hyper-comprehensive in terms of design for the visitors.



An interesting insight on design in Buenos Aires is provided by worldly known Argentine architect and designer Ricardo Blanco in his book entitled Crónicas del diseño industrial en la Argentina – Chronicles of the Industrial Design in Argentina-, where he reconstructs the path of evolution thru means of a particular historical perspective and journey. Not aiming to cover the entire historical process, but more in the sense of providing an organized insight into the world of useful aesthetics, Blanco attest to evidence the intention and cultural bases of the Argentine design path.



Thru means of the current literature and the ever growing production of industrial design objects Buenos Aires takes upon new airs of discovery, as it mutates from the traditional city of beef and tango to a much more interesting and amusing spot of arts, design and aesthetics… And all in all, in the meantime we explore the new inputs of design we can always stop to enjoy the delightful Argentine cuisine and culture, but now in a broader and richer way.

Bob Frassinetti, Buenos Aires, Argentina"

Ganja

Faith says "look for ganja at all times"


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10/8/2008 11:02:23 AM