Wildlife experts warn huge facility on the Valdés peninsula in Patagonia could be devastating for ‘a treasure chest of wildlife’
T
he rocky crevices of the Valdés peninsula and the pristine waters of the San Matías Gulf, on the Atlantic coast of Argentinian Patagonia, are a remote sanctuary for marine life, where protected southern right whales breed, orcas hunt and thousands of penguins and sea lions flourish.
“It’s a treasure chest of wildlife – a breathtaking, untouched place,” says María Leoní Gaffet, a local wildlife expert and co-director of Península Valdés Orca Research. “It’s unique in the world.”
But, she says, this rich ecosystem and Unesco world heritage site could soon be lost. A consortium of oil majors led by the state-run energy company YPF, along with Shell and Chevron, is pushing ahead with plans for the country’s largest crude oil export port and a fossil gas liquefaction ship in the gulf.
