Argentina

C

Natural Resources

The traditional wealth of Argentina lies in the vast Pampas, which are used for extensive grazing and grain production; but Argentine mineral resources, especially offshore deposits of oil and natural gas, have assumed increasing importance in recent decades.

D

Plants and Animals

The indigenous vegetation of Argentina varies greatly with the different climate and topographical regions of the country. The warm and moist north-eastern area supports tropical plants, including such trees as the palm, rosewood, lignum vitae, jacaranda, and red quebracho (a source of tannin). Grasses are the principal variety of indigenous vegetation in the Pampas. Trees, excluding such imported drought-resistant varieties as the eucalyptus, sycamore, and acacia, are practically non-existent in this region and in most of Patagonia. The chief types of vegetation in Patagonia are herbs, shrubs, grasses, and brambles. The Andean foothills of Patagonia and parts of Tierra del Fuego, however, possess flourishing growths of conifers, notably fir, cypress, pine, and cedar. Cacti and other thorny plants predominate in the arid Andean regions of north-western Argentina.

In the north the fauna is most diverse and abundant. The mammals in these regions include the monkey (several species), jaguar, puma, ocelot, anteater, tapir, peccary, and raccoon. Indigenous birds include the flamingo and various hummingbirds and parrots. Many birds in the north are captured for illegal export. In the Pampas there are the armadillo, fox, marten, wildcat, hare, deer, American ostrich or rhea, hawk, falcon, heron, plover, and partridge; some of these animals are also found in Patagonia. The cold Andean regions are the habitat of the llama, guanaco, vicuña, alpaca, and condor. Fish abound in coastal waters, lakes, and streams.

E

Soils

The soils of Argentina vary greatly in fertility and suitability for agriculture, and water is scarce in many areas outside the north-east and the humid Pampas. The Pampas, which are largely made up of a fine sand, clay, and silt almost wholly free from pebbles and rocks, are ideal for the cultivation of cereal. In contrast, the gravelly soil of most of Patagonia, in southern Argentina, is useless for growing crops. The natural grasslands of this region are used primarily as pasture for sheep. Most of the northern Andean foothill region is unsuitable for farming, but several oases favour fruit culture. In part of the Chaco an unusually saline soil is believed to be responsible for the abundance of the tannin-rich quebracho trees.

F

Environmental Concerns

About two-fifths of Argentina’s population lives in metropolitan Buenos Aires alone, where heavy traffic leads to significant air pollution. In rural areas, access to safe water and sanitation is limited. Argentina generates most of its electricity in plants that use hydroelectric power or fossil fuels. However, it has three nuclear power facilities and a relatively advanced and self-contained nuclear programme. The government has agreed to abide by the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Argentina has a relatively complex policy on land protection. There are 190 protected sites, covering a total of 4.4 per cent of the country, with a mixture of federal, provincial, and municipal administration. Universities and private individuals also administer a few reserves. Only 1.7 per cent (1997) of the land receives significant protection, and only about half of the recognized ecotypes in Argentina are represented in the protected land system. Major ecological threats are hunting and logging in the north, excessive tourism in the south, and overgrazing in virtually all areas. Rivers are becoming polluted due to an increase in pesticide and fertilizer use.

Argentina signed the World Heritage Convention and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and has designated five biosphere reserves under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Program. The United States Debt-for-Nature program has been recently used by the Nature Conservancy (US) to preserve habitat in the Patagonian Andes.

III

Population

About 85 per cent of the population is of European origin. Unlike most Latin American countries, Argentina has relatively few mestizos (people of mixed European and Native American ancestry), although their number has increased in recent times. Today, Native Americans, including the Guaraní and mestizos, make up about 2 per cent of the population. European immigration continues to be officially encouraged; from 1850 to 1940, some 6,608,700 Europeans settled in the country. Spanish and Italian immigrants have predominated, with significant numbers of French, British, German, Russian, Polish, Syrian, and other South American immigrants. More than one-third of the population lives in or around Buenos Aires; about 87 per cent of the people live in urban areas.