by
Nora Loekemeyer
The easternmost part of the Tierra del Fuego
archipelago within the Republic of Argentina is known as the “Peninsula Mitre.”
It represents an area with exceptionally high natural and cultural values in
various fields of nature conservation. Most knowledge on the area was collected
and disseminated by the project “The Extreme East of the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago”
carried out by the “Museum of the End of the World,” an institution of the government
of the Province of Tierra del Fuego. This institution presented the first proposals
for the creation of a protected natural area in 1989.
The planning of this protected area was continued in 2001 by a multi-disciplinary
team of various institutions of the provincial government with technical support
of experts of the Centro Austral de Investigaciones Cientificas CADIC (“Southern
Centre for Scientific Investigations”), the National Park Administration, and
independent experts. The integration of all opinions of these different sectors
resulted in the technical document “Peninsula Mitre: Creation of a protected
natural area in the extreme southeast of Isla Grande, Tierra del Fuego, Republic
of Argentina”.
The report contains a description of the area,
including its use in the past and present and its characteristics and outstanding
values with respect to natural and cultural heritage. Furthermore, the document
formed the basis for the elaboration of a draft bill, presented by the executive
power to the provincial legislature.
|
Rodolfo Iturraspe in an Astelia-Donatia mire in the River
Moat area. (Photo: Hans Joosten, March 2004) |
The draft bill entails the designation of the major part
of the Peninsula Mitre to a “Provincial Nature Park” whereas two smaller areas
are categorized as “Natural Forest Reserve” and “Provincial Nature Monument.”
The marine area nearby should form a “Provincial Multi-Use Reserve.” Besides,
the designation of two adjacent protected areas, the valleys of the rivers Irigoyen
and Moat, is in preparation.
A prompt passing of these laws will provide
the necessary legal framework for the conservation of this region that is characterized
by its diversity and extent of peatlands. Probably more than 2,000 km2
of virgin mires, i.e. 80 % of the total mire resource of the Province of Tierra
del Fuego and 75 % of that of Argentina, are found in this largely roadless
wilderness, constituting one of the largest peatlands complexes in South America
outside the tropics. The mires display a large variety of types with a diverse
floristic composition: from extensive Marsippospermum dominated blanket
bogs to iron rich spring mires with Schoenus antarcticus, from Astelia/Donatia
dominated cushion mires to sedge-brownmoss percolation mires and raised bogs
that are coloured intensively red by Sphagnum magellanicum. The large
extents of mires and their undisturbed development have enabled the development
of impressive mire patterning.
Besides, Peninsula Mitre has the following
important values:
-
It is a refuge for native animal species that
are threatened by extinction - like the Culpeo (Dusicyon culpaeus lycoides),
the Marine Otter (Lutra felina), the Southern River Otter (Lutra
provocax), and the Ruddy-headed Goose Chloephaga rubidiceps) - or
vulnerable - like the Striated Caracara (Phalcoboenus australis), the
Snowy Sheathbill (Chionis alba), and the Blackish Sheathbill (Cinclodes
antarcticus)
-
It has a high diversity and abundance of marine
birds and mammals including the Blue Eyed Shag (Phalacrocorax atriceps),
the Rock Shag (Phalacrocorax magellanicus), the South American Sea Lion
(Otaria flavescens), and the South American Fur Seal (Arctocephalus
australis).
-
It constitutes a feeding area of the Rockhopper
Penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome), an IUCN endangered species
-
Its streams and lakes have not been stocked
with salmonides so that the native ichtyofauna of inland waters is preserved
-
Its native forests of Nothofagus betuloides
have special characteristics due to their litoral situation and high humidity,
including the presence of Drimys winteri, Maitenus magellanica,
and Blechnum magellanicum
-
It is a habitat of endemic species of the vascular
flora of Tierra del Fuego, including various grass species (Festuca cirrosa,
Poa darwiniana, P. yaganica) and herbs and subshrubs (Senecio eightsii,
S. humifusus, S. websteri, Nassauvia latissima)
-
It is a habitat of a diverse marine benthic
vegetation, including exclusive and endemic species
-
Its extensive algal forests are a refuge and
feeding area of various invertebrates, fish, birds, and marine mammalsIt is
an important breeding area of the Patagonian grenadier (Macruronus magellanicus),
a fish species with a high commercial value
Peninsula Mitre
Photo: Hans Joosten March
2004
