Conservation

 

 

Translation by Taylor Ffitch and George Chambers

 

The oceans play a vital role in the regulation of the atmosphere, the temperature, and the existence of live on our planet. It's no accident, given that the oceans cover 70% of the surface of the Earth. For us humans, the immensity of the marine universe has been a source of inspiration, theories, and above all, food, for millennia. Yet, we are indebted to our aquatic home. According to the United Nations, approximately 8 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year, ravaging wildlife, fishing, and tourism. Contamination from plastics are costing the lives of a million marine birds and 100,000 marine mammals a year. Plastic costs 8 billion dollars a year in damages to the marine ecosystem every year. More than 70% of life on Earth is found in marine waters, but just 1 percent of the ocean's surface is protected. In the year 2025, there will be an estimated 1 kilo of plastic for every 3 kilos of fish in the ocean.

 

 

Tompkins Conservation (May 12, 2020, COCHRANE, CHILE) – A new flock of Darwin’s rhea is now roaming the steppe of Patagonia National Park, after a successful upbringing in an onsite reintroduction center dedicated to this threatened species. The fourth release of Darwin’s rheas within the park took place with essential staff exercising the sanitary precautions recommended during the COVID-19 outbreak. A small act of hope during a time of confinement for most of the planet, it is part of an ambitious rewilding program that seeks to restore complete and healthy ecosystems by strengthening vulnerable populations of native fauna.