Iberá Wetlands

"Located in north-east Argentina, the Iberá Wetlands (Esteros del Iberá) are one of the most important freshwater ecosystems in South America: a 13,000-sq-km wilderness of lakes, floodplains, grassland and subtropical forest tucked into a corner of the nation's Corrientes Province, around 640km north of Buenos Aires. The wetlands, which are home to a stunning array of animals and plants – including more than 360 bird species . . . Three decades ago, Iberá (which means "shining waters" in the local Indigenous Guaraní language) was a degraded backwater that was virtually unknown outside Argentina. Years of commercial foresting, illegal hunting and cattle ranching had taken a toll on the land and thrown the ecosystem off balance." Since the mid-1990s, there has been a major effort to conserve the wetlands through rewilding programs motivated because "many longstanding Iberá residents – such as the jaguar, giant otter, tapir and giant anteater – had completely disappeared, and other species, such as the pampas deer and ocelot, were on the brink of the same fate." The conservation initiative has not only shown species like the jaguar slowly returning to the wetlands, but has also supported the surrounding community by the transitioning the "local economy towards nature-based tourism."