what silvero is referring to is the root of one of argentina’s recent causes of local fervor: a government push to monetize the national parks.

argentina is a nation that stretches across more than 2,200 miles from north to south, encompassing stunning national parks of varying land features. while the country hosts these astounding natural sites, the nation itself is facing a difficult economic period.

in late 2018, the argentine government announced a plan called “oportunidades naturales” (natural opportunities), what they deemed as “the call for sustainable tourism investments in natural areas throughout the country,” according to a translation of a government website.

the initiative “seeks to attract private investments for the development of tourist services in natural protected areas of the country.”

enter iguazú national park, a breathtaking wonder, home to waterfalls, plants and wildlife in the atlantic forest. the park is nestled along the iguazú river, which separates parts of argentina and brazil, though the falls stretch across both borders.

through this initiative, plans for constructing a tourist villa inside the famous iguazú national park were drawn out to increase profits from the national park. iguazú is just one of 20 parks impacted by this program.

the villa’s theme is “glamping” or “glamorous camping.” the attraction could be sited on land that has limited use, per the park’s management plan, according to a recent column in el independiente iguazú.

meanwhile, local residents of puerto iguazú, an argentine town near the park, have drawn their own line. and that line physically couldn’t be crossed when tourists tried to enter the national park in early february.

during the week of feb. 3, dozens of locals blockaded the entrance to the national park in protest of what the initiative could bring to iguazú national park.

dr. natalia vespa works with the institute of subtropical biology and moved from buenos aires to puerto iguazú 10 years ago. in february, vespa and jussara di benedetto, an outspoken resident of puerto iguazú, sat down with planet forward to talk about their experience within the park and the town.

“for national parks in argentina, the objective is to preserve the natural resources. that’s it,” vespa said in spanish. “aside from this objective, there should not be exploitation of these resources within these parks.”

in a translation of an official statement to planet forward from the national parks administration in argentina, they state that, “oportunidades naturales project does not consist of the installation and development of tourist villages, but is based on small-scale, sustainable, distant implementations.”

the statement declares that the program “is aimed at positioning argentina as a world destination for nature tourism, integrating this development as a tool for growth and promotion of regional economies and generating foreign exchange,” per a translation into english.

town already offers tourism opportunities

vespa said locals already are facing problems within the town of puerto iguazú and she fears that these strains on the relationship between the town and the park will only escalate if construction of the tourist villa within the national park is pursued.

“the town already has bad issues with the lights, water, and internet,” vespa said in spanish. she noted that many neighborhoods in the town went without water for two weeks last month.

puerto iguazú is greatly frequented by tourists, as it is a short 11-mile drive to the northwest of the national park and is host to many restaurants, hotels, casinos, bars, shops, and, of course, residents. much of what the proposed tourist villa would offer could stymie not only business but the needed attention to keep puerto iguazú afloat as a town. vespa fears that if the villa is pursued, puerto iguazú would further augment these issues and lack of attention.

currently, there are hotels within the national park on the argentine side and on the brazilian side.

in an article by misiones online published on feb. 19, vespa is quoted to saying that the national park already has a large public with infrastructure and benefits for tourism.

“we consider the implementation of a project that has its main objective to generate opportunities of touristic development, without solving the current problems that need to be addressed to mitigate the impact of tourism in the natural area, unnecessary,” according to a translation of the interview.

the protests in early february reflect the current sentiment of some locals. according to radio cataratas, organizers from la asamblea vecinal sent a note that expressed their desires for the cancelation of the “natural opportunities” project in the iguazú national park as a whole, noting plans for future protests.

for di benedetto, she sees the aforementioned protests as being exemplary of how things go in south america.

“we know that in argentina and all of latin america, there’s this condition of reproducing things,” di benedetto said, citing past revolutions and movements in the southern hemisphere. “clearly, we want this (the protests against the villa) to mark a precedent.”

going forward

beyond infrastructure problems and competition for tourists, there’s another issue on the minds of protesters.

a worker at the national park, who wished to remain anonymous, said he understood what drove so many puerto iguazú locals to protest the possible construction of the tourist villa in the park.

“many people think about the environmental impacts of the villa,” he said in spanish.

planet forward was told by the administration of national parks, “in the case of the iguazú national park, on a total of 67,000 hectares of total surface area, within the public use area, the actual utilization of the park visitation is reduced to 300 hectares (0.5%).

“in this sense, the oportunidades naturales project is studying interventions that, at most, foresee the use of only 12 hectares, previously intended for public use.”

but “the town (puerto iguazú) is small, too,” the anonymous park worker said. “because of this, people think that the tourists will only go to the tourist villa.”

while en route to town after a day spent in the national park with taxi driver silvero, planet forward interviewed him about his thoughts on reactions to the plans.

“we are going to have a lot of consequences that will hurt us if we don’t fight against this (the villa), and take care of nature,” silvero said passionately.

when asked if he fears an impact on his livelihood should the plans of a tourist villa be pursued, silvero said he is not. he simply wants nature to continue to be protected.

with the financial state that argentina is currently in and the promises for sustainability by the administration, ways to increase profits off of iguazú could offer benefits.

vespa, who has a doctorate in biological sciences, said, “the people of iguazú do want investments in tourism, but they should stay in puerto iguazú.”

six years ago on a coarse, sandy beach, the calm breeze scooted light clouds across the beautiful, cape cod night sky. with the pouncing sand fleas nipping at your ankles, there stood my grandfather and myself.

grandude spent most of his life outdoors whenever he could. in a small town outside of boston, he was involved in the local boy scouts troop with my father, and his family would spend their free time in the white mountains or at any local beauty throughout new england. we grew up hearing his tales from the tops of the presidentials or the wild beaches of plum island.

despite spending my entire life in the urban sprawl of the windy city, my father passed grandude’s appreciation for the world onto my three brothers and me. we spent every summer traveling as a family across the country to visit national parks. we would talk about their importance as us peppy, young boys walked, talked, and hiked with our parents.

our family would escape the big lights of the city for the starry skies of the peninsula that is door county, wisconsin. we would be camping out with the wildlife and learning how to whittle tiny boats out of twigs or what proper trail etiquette was. in kindergarten, i remember sitting next to the lake with my father and brothers as my dad told us about the constellations, with my young mind wondering about the stunning views up above.

flash forward to the summer after graduating eighth grade: i had just received my first dslr camera from my mother, a professional photographer. immediately i began documenting everything in sight, and eventually also what was not so clear to the naked eye where i live.

the summer of 2012, grandude had noticed my passion for photography and invited me to join him after sunset at the nearby beach, where my brothers and cousins spent many hours as children. with our wobbly tripods jamming as the gritty sand snuck its way into the components of the camera stands, we turned our lenses to the heavens and i was shown how to photograph the stars.

this lesson quickly became an integral part of whenever i would travel – i always wanted to see how the stars would twinkle their lights across the world. i tried it on every camping trip, where i would be blessed with a sky lit up like in the movies. while in cities, my images reflected the blaring light from the streets, drowning out the heavenly horizons.

my interest in star photography developed from something to practice into a way for me to appreciate the magical things that the environment has to offer. while my eyes were on the skies throughout my camping and traveling during my late teenage years, my mind began to ponder the impacts of light pollution on viewing the beauty above. at the end of this story is an interactive map showing my astral documentations across the world since 2012.

piercing through the hazy, bright night skies of chicago, you can usually pick out a star or two on a good day thanks to the rampant light pollution found here. it’s only once you get outside of the urban sprawl that you can truly experience the greatness mother nature can provide, both in outer space and right here on earth.

we lost grandude in 2015 but his memories live on with me through my passion for nature and star photography. it is at this intersection where i feel like he is still most present, and i find much of my drive to do environmental reporting through his love for the environment.

from up above to the vast surface of our planet, i learned that it is incredibly important to do what is possible to preserve and protect the stunning landscapes that we all call home. through the vista of the skies seen in my experiences of photographing stars, i find inspiration to do my job as an environmental correspondent for planet forward by bringing light to sustainability news. as stunning as the sight of stars is, it is only attainable when pollution is not shrouding the views. this is almost poetically reflective of the beauty of the world despite the trials of unsustainable actions.

through the fleeting memories of nights on a beach with my grandfather and our cameras, i have been inspired to appreciate everything around me while understanding the gravity of what’s at stake with our planet’s at-risk state.

in this podcast, frisbie speaks with colin boyle, a planet forward environmental correspondent out of chicago, about the past, present and future of the river.