The Guardians of the Ambato Mountains: The People Behind the Reserves

The conservation of a protected area depends not only on its creation. It requires trained personnel, strengthened institutions, and sustained management over time. With this objective, Fundación Naturaleza Argentina, in partnership with the municipalities, is promoting the Municipal Environmental Guardians program: an initiative that strengthens the capacities of the teams working daily in the nature reserves of the Ambato Mountains Mosaic of Nature Reserves in the province of Catamarca.

The Municipal Environmental Guardians are, for the most part, local government employees who play an essential role in the management of protected areas. They participate in environmental monitoring, visitor services, environmental education, the implementation of regulations, infrastructure maintenance, and the prevention of risk situations.

The Ambato Mountains, in the province of Catamarca, are home to native Monte and Yungas forests that protect the headwaters supplying communities in northwestern Argentina. Their biodiversity and importance as a water source make this area a priority for conservation. 

 

"Being a Guardian means making a commitment to nature and the land, having a deep love for nature, because you live here and see it every day. The local people here take better care of it than visitors from elsewhere. But it's also about teaching, dialogue, and showing visitors that they have to take care of nature." - Marta Santucho.

 

The program combines technical and practical training to provide tools that address the daily challenges of management. Throughout the process, teams from different municipalities participate in joint training sessions that strengthen not only their knowledge but also the collaborative work among the reserves that make up the mosaic.

The municipal reserves of El Manchao, Los Capayanes, and Mogote de la Cruz comprise the Sierras de Ambato Natural Reserve Mosaic, the first mosaic of municipal protected areas in Argentina, a management model that brings together local governments and communities to conserve the territory jointly. 

Among the training sessions held were workshops on communication, risk management, and the design, construction, and maintenance of trails. This last workshop enabled Municipal Environmental Guardians and staff from the municipal natural reserves of El Manchao (Saujil), Los Capayanes (Capayán), and Mogote de la Cruz (Huillapima) to incorporate tools for planning safe routes, minimizing erosion, regulating public use, and improving the experience of those who visit the protected areas.

The building trail training was led by Lucas Fonzo and Sebastián Raviculé, from Iberá National Park, and Javier Lucotti, from Nahuel Huapi National Park, who shared experiences and methodologies applied in different protected areas of the country.

These actions are part of a broader strategy to consolidate the effective management of the Sierras de Ambato Mosaic of Natural Reserves, promoting a common identity among municipal teams and strengthening cooperation between local governments to conserve one of the most valuable territories in northwestern Argentina.

"All the locals call the trails we're learning 'hiking,' which is what we're actually learning. Each of us has our own culture and traditions, and this is about revaluing all of that. The main thing is that each of our neighbors gets involved, primarily, and from there, of course, the care that depends on everyone: on each one of us.”

A conservation model built from within

The Sierras de Ambato Mosaic of Natural Reserves is the first mosaic of municipal protected areas in Argentina. Through this territorial governance model, Fundación Naturaleza Argentina supports municipalities in the creation and management of natural reserves, promoting participatory processes, the development of management plans, institutional strengthening, and the improvement of infrastructure for public use.

Currently, the mosaic protects 140,102 hectares through municipal reserves with approved management plans and projects to incorporate more than 60,000 additional hectares by 2028. The work also includes the installation of signage at strategic access points, the strengthening of local capacities, and the construction of a shared identity for the protected areas. .. . . .

In the Sierras de Ambato, conservation means much more than protecting biodiversity. It means working alongside communities to ensure the water, the landscape, and the ecosystems that sustain life in this region of Catamarca.