The Falklands Warrah as emblem of Argentina’s ‘symbolic’ Malvinas National Park

The Falklands Warrah as emblem of Argentina’s ‘symbolic’ Malvinas National Park

The official announcement was done on Sunday during the Night of Museums 2023 Festival at the Malvinas Museum in Buenos Aires by Environment minister Juan Cabandié

The outgoing Argentine government announced on Sunday, through the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development that it is working on the creation of the first “symbolic” natural park in the Falkland Islands, and a bill is being drafted to send to Congress.

The project means the creation of a protected area in the Malvinas Islands, and counts with the support of the National Parks Center and the Malvinas and South Atlantic Islands Museum.

The official announcement was done on Sunday during the Night of Museums 2023 Festival at the Malvinas Museum in Buenos Aires City, where Environment minister Juan Cabandié headed the act in which the ‘symbolic’ crest and logo for the projected Malvinas national park was unveiled.

“Malvinas is history, it’s the young lads who died fighting for their motherland and whom we must always honor. Malvinas is the ongoing historic claim for our sovereignty, but it is also the albatrosses, the marine life, the wetlands the peat soils. The peaty soils where our combatants spent days and days. But peaty soils are also some of the best sequesters of carbon in the planet…” said minister Cabandié.

He added, “Congress must decide on this national park, we are certain of their support..” so that one day will come when “we will be able to contemplate, care and preserve this ecosystem, with park rangers to tell all visitors of the wonderful environmental qualities of our Islands”.

It was then announced the joint efforts of the Environment ministry, the National Parks Office and the Malvinas Museum to create the first symbolic Park of the Malvinas Islands.

The same evening at the Malvinas Museum the crest and logo for the future symbolic park was also anticipated, “a blend that calls for caring after biodiversity through the exercise of sovereignty and memory of our Malvinas”

Allegedly the winning crest was the result of a ballot among the 7,000 people who on Sunday visited the Malvinas Museum, and chosen between three designs involving flora and fauna from the Islands, which normally inhabits the symbolic park in the Islands.

One of the designs was that of the warrah or the Falklands wolf, (Dusicyon australis), allegedly linked to Patagonia and that is also known as the Falklands dog, Falkland fox and warrah fox. The warrah figures with the background of a hilly, barren landscape.

But despite all the objectionable intentions of the Environment minister and other offices, of a virtually nonexistent government, it must be said that the first round of the Argentine presidential election is next 22 October with a run off, if needed, the following November. This means everybody is in the election campaigning trail and it is hard to reach a consensus on the issue and to hold a Congress session.

Furthermore what is left of the Kirchner government is split, with nominal president Alberto Fernandez pushed aside and replaced by minister Sergio Massa in his double role, incumbent presidential candidate and head of the shattered Argentine Economy. However the two thirds opposition is also divided, between a right wing aggressive populist and a former woman guerrilla, repented, and head of the traditional anti government coalition when Argentine politics were dominated by two main groupings.

In a dispute of three, and if there is a November runoff, none of the three candidates wants to be condemned as in the game of chairs.

This however does not mean that a future government in Argentina might resurface the idea of the Warrah as the symbol of a Malvinas Islands National Park.