Newswise — Seattle, Wash., (April 29, 2024) -- Today, Greater Good Charities and GreaterGood.com announce they have awarded a grant to WCS in a dedicated two-part effort to protect more than 150,000 acres by donating it to the province of Mendoza in Argentina. This land, located in the Natural Protected Area La Payunia, is inhabited by endemic, endangered, and threatened species.
“We are thrilled that after nearly a decade this special land in Mendoza and the species that live there are getting the protection they deserve,” said Liz Baker, CEO of Greater Good Charities. “Greater Good Charities is proud to participate in this effort as a part of our mission to preserve the environment and help protect biodiversity.”
The land purchased serves as the main winter range of the most massive guanaco migration left in the species´ range, and provides habitat for the threatened Andean condor, endangered Andean cat, Darwin´s rhea, puma, mountain viscachas, grey and culpeo foxes as well as other small cats (Geoffroy and colocolo cats).
WCS Argentina has been working for over 20 years to safeguard this otherworldly landscape, conducting extensive research on these species, supporting conservation actions and developing regenerative land management practices to allow humans and wildlife to coexist in the surrounding rangelands.
In 2019, Greater Good Charities and GreaterGood.com worked with WCS Argentina, and the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network as an articulator, to permanently protect nearly 103,000 acres of guanaco summer range by purchasing it from private landowners and donating it to the government of Mendoza as a tool for increasing the area of public lands within this provincial preserve.
“Increasing the proportion of public lands within the reserve will facilitate the protection of wildlife, ecosystem services, and the cultural and geological assets of the region. Moreover, it enhances the possibilities of local sustainable development through public use and tourism,” said Andrés Novaro, Land Conservation Director of WCS Argentina.
“When I first visited this area almost 10 years ago, I saw hundreds of large, wild animals simultaneously, including guanaco, foxes, and condors spread across a wide plain; surrounded by mountains and an extinct volcano,” said GreaterGood’s CEO, Tim Kunin. “It was like a South American Serengeti. I knew we had to protect this majestic and important landscape.”
This most recent grant will purchase an additional 50,000 acres of land, expanding the public land in the existing protected area permanently for these important vulnerable species. Like the previous purchase, this land will have all livestock removed, and will be marked with signage as public lands inside the protected area and monitored by local authorities.
“The collaboration of all the parties involved marks a milestone for La Payunia, the largest natural protected area in Mendoza and one of the largest in Patagonia, by preserving its natural and cultural heritage in perpetuity,”assured the Undersecretary of Environment of Mendoza, Sebastián Melchor. The Minister of Energy and Environment of the Province, Jimena Latorre, highlighted that “this important expansion of the public area allows us to strengthen the candidacy of Payunia as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, which would strengthen the area as a tourist destination and provide new employment opportunities.”.
The generous contributions from Greater Good Charities and GreaterGood.com were supported by Living Future.
About Greater Good Charities
Greater Good Charities is a 501(c)(3) global nonprofit organization that works to help people, pets, and the planet by mobilizing in response to need and amplifying the good. Greater Good Charities, with a Four-Star rating on Charity Navigator and a Platinum Seal on GuideStar, has invested more than $650 million in impact, including cash grants, in-kind supplies, and programmatic support, to charitable partners in 121 countries since 2007. To learn more about how Greater Good Charities is amplifying the good across the globe, please visit greatergood.org or follow Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok.
About Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
WCS combines the power of its zoos and an aquarium in New York City and a Global Conservation Program in more than 50 countries to achieve its mission to save wildlife and wild places. WCS runs the world’s largest conservation field program, protecting more than 50 percent of Earth’s known biodiversity; in partnership with governments, Indigenous People, Local Communities, and the private sector. Visit: newsroom.wcs.org. Follow: @WCSNewsroom. For more information: +1 (347) 840-1242. Listen to the WCS Wild Audio podcast HERE.
About GreaterGood
GreaterGood empowers people around the world to affect positive change by making ordinary online actions extraordinary. When you shop at a GreaterGood store, or take other actions at one of our cause sites, you generate funding that benefits people, pets, and the planet. As a registered fundraiser for Greater Good Charities, GreaterGood has proudly raised more than $80 million for charity. The programs and projects supported by our combined efforts address a wide range of vital needs including disaster relief, funding food and care for people and animals; providing mammograms and related support to women; funding research for challenge diseases; preserving and reforesting threatened habitats; and providing scholarships and new books to children.
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