The event, held at the Centro Multiespacio of the Municipality of Camarones on November 4 of this year, brought together national and provincial officials and conservation specialists. Present were Claudia Loyola, mayor of Camarones; Juan Duro, mayor of PIMCPA; Guillermo Díaz Cornejo, member of the Board of Directors of the National Parks Administration; Nadia Bravo, undersecretary of Conservation of Protected Natural Areas; Fernando Pegoraro, undersecretary of Environment and Sustainable Development; Ricardo Delfino, general Coordinator of the MaRes Project; and José María Musmeci, president of the Fundación Patagonia Natural, as well as other officials from the province of Chubut. This activity strengthens the collaboration between different levels of government and civil society to protect one of the most important marine ecosystems in the country.
“We would like to congratulate the MaRes Project, the European Union and the management of National Parks and the Province. And we join this great project” thanked Claudia Loyola, mayor of Camarones and remarked ”We will accompany the province, all its institutions and National Parks to continue doing this enormous task of conserving and maintaining our beautiful place. We are the ones who conserve and take care of it”.
During the ceremony, a set of equipment was handed over, including diving equipment, a semi-rigid boat with trailer, a drone, cameras, GPS, binoculars, cell phones and high-performance computers, all tools that will strengthen the Park’s capabilities to monitor, investigate, collect data and respond quickly to any threat, thus ensuring the protection of this valuable natural environment.
“MaRes gave more than this equipment, it gave a framework for the management of the Southern Patagonia Interjurisdictional Coastal Marine Park to change the paradigm and gave us the opportunity to generate all those frameworks for discussion, agreements and disagreements” highlighted Juan Duro, intendant of PIMCPA and added: ‘This equipment reinforces our ability to protect it and to work together to ensure its long-term sustainability”.
For his part, Guillermo Díaz Cornejo, member of the Board of Directors of the National Parks Administration shared “We intend to continue supporting these valuable conservation projects” and emphasized “We do not believe in passive conservation, but in one of getting involved, developing projects, providing equipment, generating scientific knowledge”.
The MaRes Project, coordinated by the Forum for the Conservation of the Patagonian Sea, with the support of the European Union, is an initiative aimed at strengthening the resilience of Argentina’s Marine Protected Areas. One of its objectives is to improve their management by providing these areas with the necessary resources and tools to protect their biodiversity against current and future threats.
“We can say that resilience is strengthened with the participation of the communities involved in the management of these very special spaces.” concluded José María Musmeci.