Civil Society, Development & Aid, Environment, Headlines, Latin America & the Caribbean

ENVIRONMENT-ARGENTINA: Tourism Growth Threatens Glacier Lake

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 6 2008 (IPS) - The ice front of the Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina is five kilometres wide and up to 70 metres high, as it moves majestically across the Lago Argentino, oblivious to the environmental threat posed by the rapid growth of the nearby tourist centre which hosts thousands of visitors.

The Perito Moreno is the biggest attraction among the 365 glaciers in Los Glaciares National Park, in the southern province of Santa Cruz in Patagonia. Over the last seven years, the number of tourists visiting from all over the world has risen from 5,000 a year to over 500,000, Park authorities say.

The walkways built for visitors to watch the collapse of the glacier are increasingly impressive. Initially, 1,400 metres of walkway were built; today they extend to 4,300 metres, and there are more and wider circuits so that everyone is able to see.

Only 80 kilometres away from this incredible sight is the town of El Calafate, which had a population of 4,000 a decade ago and now is home to more than 20,000 people, without counting the tourists who stay at the nearly 100 hotels and cabins.

Located 3,000 kilometres southwest of Buenos Aires, El Calafate is the doorway to the Perito Moreno glacier and is also the tourist centre that has grown most in the country in the last few years.

According to the municipal authorities, 2,700 new residents a year move to the town, attracted by employment opportunities in construction and tourism.

Tourism in the area was boosted during the administration of former President Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007), who was born in the province of Santa Cruz, was three times its governor, and has a holiday home in El Calafate with his wife, current President Cristina Fernández.

The Kirchners have been photographed with high-profile politicians from around the world against the backdrop of the glacier, and according to Fernández’s recent declaration of assets on taking office in December, they are investors in an El Calafate tourism complex.

But environmentalists are concerned by the rapid growth of the industry, which has begun to pollute Lago Argentino, the outflow lake of several giant glaciers.

“Tourists who come here have a high educational level, and want to observe nature, watch birds and enjoy the walks and scenery,” Liliana Frías, an ecology graduate with the Calafate Natural Civil Association, told IPS.

“Now, on the pretext of widening the spectrum of visitors, a new set of tourists with high purchasing power is being sought,” she said. Luxury hotels and casinos are being built, changing the face of the town and bringing its service infrastructure to the verge of collapse.

The water for many of the hotels is supplied by natural springs, and their untreated sewage is dumped into Bahía Redonda in Lago Argentino, where Calafate Natural technicians have detected bacteria from faecal matter.

“We have a sewage treatment plant which has been overwhelmed by demand, and they promised to build another in two years, but small waste treatment units should be built urgently,” Frías said.

Meanwhile, the environmental Fundación Proteger backed the idea of launching a campaign in defence of Bahía Redonda on World Wetlands Day, celebrated Feb. 2.

Frías expressed concern over a municipal plan to build a sluice dam to maintain a constant water level in the bay year-round, independent of the rise and fall of the lake level caused by the melting of icebergs broken off from the glacier.

The authorities plan to create a still pond of water for water sports and other recreational activities. It would also protect the residential area from flooding due to abrupt rises in lake levels along the shores, they argue.

At present, the Bahía Redonda freezes over in winter, and residents and tourists can skate on the ice. But in summer, with maximum temperatures between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius and strong winds, there are fewer options for tourists.

Environmentalists, however, who have been waiting a year for a response to their request for information about the plan, say that it could have an extremely negative impact. In the first place, it would concentrate the organic waste now dumped into the lake along the shores of El Calafate.

But above all, they are concerned that altering the rhythm of the rise and fall of the water level will prevent thousands of birds from nesting and reproducing in the wetlands that appear around the margins of the bay in the low water season. Frías said the species include sandpipers, plovers, yellowlegs, godwits, black-necked swans, white swans, ducks and flamingos.

“The benefits and services provided by wetlands to ecosystems and human communities is a central theme of this year’s campaign,” said members of Fundación Proteger, which is based in the northeastern province of Santa Fe.