ARGENTINA-ENVIRONMENT: Noise at Falls Comes Mainly From ‘Copters

By Marcela Valente Reprint | | Print |

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 16 1996 (IPS) - Tourists visit the world-famous Iguazu Falls to snatch moments of tranguility. Lately, even the gentle singing of birds has been drowned out every 10 minutes by the roar of helicopter engines.

“It leaves a bitter taste; it’s a big nuisance,” says Eva Karnosky, a German tourist. “It is completely tranquil, and then, all of a sudden, there comes this tremendous noise.”

Located on the border between Argentina and Brazil, the falls and national park of the same name are shared by the two countries. A Brazilian company operates 40 helicopter flights a day for visitors seeking an aerial view. Their thunderous noise is accentuated by the physical makeup of the place. Birds are scared, visitors annoyed.

Argentine authorities want the helicopters stopped. This is easier said than done. Secretary for the Environment, Mario Julia Alsogaray, has protested before Brazilian authorities without success.

“The only solution is to ban the flights on the Argentine side,” said Ernesto Giachino, Argentine director of the facility.

Three years ago just such an initiative was presented to the Argentine Senate. It has now been approved by the Ecology Committee and is being analysed by the Transportation Committee. If passed by the Senate, the measure — which will limit flights that make “noise or environmental disturbances” — will go to the House of Representatives for final approval.

“We are sure that the Senate will approve it this year, and perhaps next the House will,” predicted Luis Fernandez, a lawyer who is an aide to the Senate’s Ecological Committee.

The proposed law is compatible with the aeronautical code which restricts or bans flights for reasons of “national interest”. Exceptions are made for flights in national parks done for scientific or educational reasons.

Declared by UNESCO a part of World Patrimony, Iguazu Falls and park are visited by 1.5 million tourists every year. A huge body of water, it creates quite a spectacle.

The falls are among the biggest tourist attractions in Argentina and Brazil. Both countries share the 67,000-hectare Iguazu National Park, home to some 2,000 plant species and 400 kinds of birds.

For Argentina, its potential is hampered by the daily activity, a constant for the last six years. It involves some 40 aircraft belonging to the Helisul company. They take off from the Brazilian side carrying four to six passengers. The aircraft practically dive into the Devil’s Throat, the most beautiful site of the falls, which originate in the calm Iguazu river.

At a cost of 50 dollars per person for an eight-minute ride, the company makes about 2.5 million dollars a year, which allows them to appease Brazilian authorities with payments of 200 flight-hours a year for patrols or putting out fires.

However, the Argentine director of the park, Giachino, thinks this is not a good deal.

The helicopters are not banned from flying there, but even if they fly at 500 meters above the territory, the noise is deafening. That is why Argentina is trying to keep the flights restricted to the Brazilian side.

“It could be an economic resource, but in terms of environmental conservation, they are more detrimental than they are a benefit,” says Giachino, who also warned that if UNESCO) revokes the status of the falls and park, “the impact would be enormous”.

There are no studies on the environmental impact of the noise but visitors who seek contact with natural beauty complain about the nuisance.

Each year, almost 1 million tourists visit the Brazilian side, and half a million visit the Argentine side. Visitors are mostly from those two countries, followed by Uruguay.

Upon leaving, many of them register their complaints about the noise nuisance.