Through a joint effort by Ternium, Tenaris and Tecpetrol, together with Flora and Fauna Argentine Foundation, a steel corral has been built in order to help Yaguareté’s reproduction and reintroduction in Iberá, Corrientes Province.
There are under 200 adult yaguaretés left throughout Argentina. They are divided in 3 regions in the country: the Yungas in Salta and Jujuy, Chaco region and areas in Misiones and the Paranaense jungles. And they are critically endangered species: if some of the threats they face do not changed, there will be no more yaguaretés in the years to come.
Flora and Fauna Argentine Foundation works on yaguaretés’ reproduction and reintegration to one of its belonging habitat: Iberá wetlands in Corrientes (Natural Reserve), through different initiatives that aim at on site yaguaretés breeding, which are apt to live freely in nature.
With that in mind, the “Centro Experimental de Cría de Yaguaretés (Experimental Center for Yaguaretés Breeding)” was developed in Estancia San Alonso, within Iberá Natural Reserve. For its construction, Flora and Fauna Foundation received donations from Ternium Siderar, Tenaris and Tecpetrol, which jointly committed to the value chain for this project to be real. The project involved from transport companies to distribution centers, with a special contribution by TONKA S.A. (part of Ternium’s value chain), which was in charge of the design of the corrals needed for yaguaretés reproduction and breeding.
The Steel manufactured by Ternium Siderar every day is part of those corrals, as the company donated plain galvanized sheets, which allow the protection of the fences for those corrals avoiding the grow of weeds (this would need human beings for the maintenance) and the placement of overhangs on the walls of the fences for yaguaretés not to creep. Besides, the corrals were built with materials donated by Tenaris and Tecpetrol; seamless pipes whose useful life in the oil and gas extraction is over and now they make the fence posts. For their part, AMAcindar also made a contribution of Sima mesh and wire for the corral walls and security systems.
Thanks to the steel contributions, a corrals system could be built (more than 30 hectares with a 4 km perimeter) designed for the reproduction of animals coming from captivity, and for their breeds to develop a behavior apt for their free life. The structures count on a sophisticated security and monitoring system (5 meter high frames, with 1 meter internal overhang and two sets of electric wire lines).
“Steel, a material that can be reused and recycled endlessly, and which keeps its properties and it is harmless for nature, was key to the development of a high environmental and preservation value initiative, essential in terms of environment care in our country. Without steel, this project would not have been possible,” explains José Fonrouge, Environmental Manager at Ternium.
At present, 2 couples of yaguaretés coming from Argentine zoos and one reserve in Paraguay live at CECY. A cub is expected shortly.
Green commitment
Flora and Fauna Foundation started in 2010 as an initiative by Argentine citizens interested in the extension of protected areas for the conservation of biodiversity in different places of our country. Throughout these years it has managed to get local and outside funding to use for projects of flora and fauna species preservation, promoting the environment education and training of issues related to the defense and preservation of the environment.
Sources:
Proyecto Iberá (Iberá Project)
Fundación Flora y Fauna Argentina (Flora and Fauna Foundation)
Red Yaguareté (Yaguareté Net)