Proteger, a non-governmental environmental organization, has proposed the creation in Argentina of a natural protected area for wetlands extending more than 800 km. The project would preserve freshwater reserves in an area covering 1.5 million hectares. The areas of the provinces included in the Parana and Paraguay river basins should be added to the list of internationally important sites for the conservation and rational use of wetlands, says Proteger.

The region includes the northeastern provinces of Formosa, Corrientes, Santa Fe and Entre Rios, and the northern part of Buenos Aires province.

The plan has backing from the Worldwide Fund for Nature and Argentina's Secretariat for Environment and Sustainable Development, which is entrusted with the technical aspects of the project.

The river basins and marshes are rich freshwater ecosystems and play an important role in providing clean water and controlling flooding.