From The Conquest To Ecoturism: Environmental Consequences Of Human Activities In Coastal Argentina

RODRÍGUEZ, D; BASTIDA, R

Tokio, Japón.

Conferencia; United Nations University International Conference Man and The Ocean: Conserving Our Coastal Ecosystem; 2002

United Nations University, Iwate Prefecture and UNESCO

The coastal area of Argentina extends for more than 5000 km of diverse habitats that were exposed to different human impacts during the last five centuries. Small aboriginal groups, mainly in Tierra del Fuego, depended on such coastal resources as marine mammals, invertebrates, birds and fish. Their subsistence strategy was based mainly in a selective and mobile exploitation, resulting in sustainable harvests for thousands of years. Probably the first severe human impact of the coastal area was soon after the discovery of the La Plata River in the beginning of sixteenth century, when the seal colonies found were heavily exploited, mainly for oil and food for the Spanish crews. The situation dramatically changed after 1780, when vast undisturbed seal colonies of Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Malvinas/Falkland and South Georgia Islands were discovered by English and American expeditions and shortly devastated. In less than one century all the colonies virtually collapsed. Aboriginal groups were forced to change their feeding habits, turning to poorer energetic sources such as invertebrates and fishes. By the end of the XIXth century, and after the independence from Spain, a rapid north-south colonisation resulted in the extermination of aboriginal groups. This marked the onset of agriculture and extensive cattle and sheep breeding, rendering the impoverished coastal area much less attractive than inland. In the early ´20 and ´30s the growing coastal population showed an increasing interest in marine resources, including the development of recreational areas and pioneer semi-industrial and artisanal fisheries. Target species included fish and shrimps, whilst focal exploitation of intertidal and submareal molluscs and algae also took place. There have also been coastal environmental problems created by the pressures of the increasing coastal population. Invasion of exotic species in harbours and nearby areas followed the increasing marine traffic. Human settlements produced industrial and urban pollutants, with the most severe problems associated with marine bird oiling and incidental catches of marine mammals. During the last 30 years, marine mammals and birds have attracted domestic and international attention, demanding nature-based tourism and the establishment of marine protected areas. Nowadays social and cultural pressure is being directed towards effective environmental legislation, conservation of coastal habitats and responsible fisheries.