Buenos Aires Ecological Reserve, ''Reserva Ecológica de Buenos Aires'', also known as Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve, ''Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur'', is a tract of low land on the
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...
riverbank located on the east side of the
district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
of
Puerto Madero
Puerto Madero, also known within the urban planning community as the Puerto Madero Waterfront, is a Barrios and Communes of Buenos Aires, ''barrio'' of Buenos Aires in the Buenos Aires Central Business District, Central Business District. Occup ...
in
Buenos Aires CBD
The Buenos Aires Central Business District is the main commercial centre of Buenos Aires, Argentina, though not an official city ward. While the '' barrios'' of Puerto Madero and Retiro house important business complexes and modern high-rise arc ...
,
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
.
History
After opening in 1918, the Municipal Riverside resort was witness to the splendour and decadence of the “Costanera Sur” promenade. On foot, by car or tram, thousands of
porteños came to this place in search of fresh air in summer afternoons, or to bathe in the river, smartly clad in their one piece bathing costume and carrying a towel. In accordance to the 1923 Regulations, men and women bathed in the river separated by the long pier.
[Buenos Aires Ecological Reserve: History]
During the 1920s and 1930s, the promenade became prosperous with the setting up of bars and coffee shops which added their architectural beauty to the Nereids Fountain built by sculptor
Lola Mora, the
art deco
Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
-styled statue in honor to the
Plus Ultra
(, , ) is a Latin phrase and the national motto of Spain. A reversal of the original phrase ''non plus ultra'' ("nothing further beyond"), said to have been inscribed as a warning on the Pillars of Hercules at the Strait of Gibraltar (whic ...
airmen, the bronze lampposts and the Monument in honor to the
King and Queen of Spain. The resort became one of the porteños favorite promenades not only during the day but also at night due to the music and variety shows performed in the coffee shops. The decline of the resort started at the end of the 1950s. Facilities began to deteriorate, many coffee shops were demolished and bathing started to be forbidden due to river contamination.
In the early 1970s, a new project was created in addition to those that had been developed in the northern city areas which consisted of reclaiming land from the river in front of the old “Costanera Sur” Riverside Resort. The land-filling started in 1978 using the Dutch “polder” system;
embankments were built using debris from demolitions carried out to construct urban motorways. As the zone within the embankments filled with silt from the river, the water confined inside was
drained, though this work was not fully completed.
The initial project, which included the creation of green areas and the construction of a “Government Building Area” was abandoned, although land-filling and debris dumping went on discontinuously until 1984, when works were finally ended. Since then, different plant communities developed spontaneously from seeds present in the silt, windborne or dispersed by the animals. By providing refuge and food, plants helped animal populations to settle in. From the beginning, the newly formed
ponds
A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression, either naturally or artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing the two, although defining a pond t ...
and
grasslands
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur ...
attracted the attention of nature lovers and bird watchers who thus started to visit them regularly. As the biological diversity increased, woods and a variety of animal species appeared. This place became a meeting point for joggers, cyclists, students, naturalists and even foreign bird watchers passing through
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
.
The official recognition occurred on June 5, 1986, when the
Buenos Aires City Council voted unanimously the Ordinance 41,247 granting protection to the area, thus echoing the claims of the Non-Governmental Organizations.
On January 9, 2009, the Ecological Reserve caught fire. The large cloud of smoke persisted over Puerto Madero for nearly 24 hours, and was eventually put out by the fire department.
[http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1088675 ]
Image:Egretta alba 2 (Marek Szczepanek).jpg,
Image:CpZ Cygnus melancoryphus 00.jpg,
Image:PampasGrass.jpg,
Nature trails
Being adjacent to the city, a visit to the Ecological Reserve is an escape from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis. A number of trails leading to the river are perfect for
birdwatching
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...
, strolling, cycling and nature lovers, with many people holding picnics in the areas close to the water.
See also
*
List of national parks of Argentina
The National Parks of Argentina make up a network of 35 national parks in Argentina. The parks cover a very varied set of terrains and biotopes, from Baritú National Park on the northern border with Bolivia to Tierra del Fuego National Park in th ...
References
External links
National Parks Administration(in English and Spanish)
The Argentina Independent; The Ecological Reserve: Birds, Beasts and Bikes
{{Coord, 34, 36, 14, S, 58, 21, 9, W, type:landmark, display=title
Geography of Buenos Aires
Ecological
Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...
Ramsar sites in Argentina