Under the heading of Environment, the EST Section is responsible for, among other issues, climate change, national parks, the GLOBE educational program, and the Americas Fund.

Climate Change

Global climate change is a serious environmental challenge of the 21st century. The overall aim of the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change is to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases at levels that will not be detrimental to human life or the environment.

The U.S. Department of State, through its Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, coordinates U.S. international climate change policy. For an overview of U.S. policy and useful links, see the Department of State website

National Parks

National parks in the U.S. and Argentina have a long and proud history. Yellowstone National Park in the states of Wyoming and Montana was the first protected area in the western hemisphere. The second was the area near Bariloche, Argentina, which eventually became the Nahuel Huapi National Park. This land was given to Argentina by Francisco Moreno, a noted Argentine scientist, conservationist, and diplomat. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, America’s first great conservationist, met Francisco Moreno on a visit to Argentina in 1913.

Through a bilateral agreement signed by the U.S. and Argentina in 1997, both countries have agreed to cooperate regarding the management and protection of national parks and other protected natural and cultural heritage sites. The U.S. also provides technical support to Argentina regarding biodiversity and the conservation of exotic species.

The National Park Service of the Department of the Interior administers parks in the U.S. while the National Parks Administration of the Secretariat for Natural Resources and Human Environment administers parks in Argentina.

GLOBE Program

The Global Learning and Observations to Better the Environment (GLOBE) Program began in 1994. GLOBE is a worldwide internet-based program of science education, which brings together K-12 students, teachers and scientists from thousands of schools, in over 100 countries. Students, guided by teachers, collect weather and other environmental data and transmit this information via the Internet to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA). The data is compiled and mapped and then sent back to the students via the Internet. The GLOBE Program is a valuable learning exercise for students and is an important source of environmental information for scientists.

Argentina was an original participant in the international GLOBE agreement. Approximately 47 Argentine schools participate in the GLOBE Program; the majority of the schools are in Buenos Aires Province, but there are programs throughout the country.

The Americas Fund

The Americas Fund is part of the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative in which the U.S. Government has agreed to forgive USD 2.7 million of Argentine foreign debt. This money is deposited instead with the Fund. A Board of Directors, comprised of U.S. and Argentine government representatives and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), evaluates environmental project requests and disburses funds with the purpose of “promoting activities destined to the preservation, protection, or management of Argentina’s natural resources in a sustainable and environmentally sound manner, as well as promoting the improvement of the survival and development of children in Argentina.” The Fund is designed to become self-sustaining through the participation of other governments and/or private donors.

For more information regarding the fund, please contact Silvia Tissoni, administrative assistant, at Stissoni@sernah.gov.ar

Argentina’s National Commission on Space Activities (CONAE) was created by President Menem in 1991. Shortly thereafter, CONAE signed an Agreement with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the promotion of civilian space research and cooperation. An agreement extending the 1991 agreement was signed in 1996. Cooperative activities have included scientific exchanges, the launching by NASA of Argentine scientific satellites, and a 1997 U.S.-Argentine space conference hosted by CONAE and NASA. In addition, the U.S. and Argentina work closely on the Gemini and Auger projects, described below.  For a complete list of U.S./Argentine agreements please see EST-Related Agreements.

Scientific Satellites

CONAE, collaborating with NASA, has developed a series of three scientific application satellites, SAC-A, B, and C.  Additional satellites are in the planning stage. SAC-B was the first SAC series satellite. The satellite was designed for the advanced study of solar physics and astrophysics through the examination of solar flares, gamma ray bursts, diffuse cosmic background X-rays, and energetic neutral atoms. Launched in November 1996, a power failure in the third stage of NASA’s Pegasus-XL launcher rendered SAC-B useless after a few orbits.

SAC-A was a mini-satellite designed to test several new technologies. Instrumentation included an Earth-monitoring CCD Camera; Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) to determine satellite attitude and position; Silicon Cell Panels to analyze the performance and degradation of the cells’ electrical characteristics in a microgravity environment; NASA’s Magnetometer Experiment for scalar measurement of the Earth’s magnetic field; and a whale tracker to monitor whale movements in the South Atlantic Ocean. INVAP supplied the platform, the CCD Camera, and the DGPS. The Silicon Cell Panels were provided by the Argentine National Atomic Energy Commission (Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, CNEA). SAC-C was launched by NASA Space Shuttle flight STS-88 on 14 December 1998 and successfully completed its yearlong mission.

SAC-A was a mini-satellite designed to test several new technologies. Instrumentation included an Earth-monitoring CCD Camera; Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) to determine satellite attitude and position; Silicon Cell Panels to analyze the performance and degradation of the cells’ electrical characteristics in a microgravity environment; NASA’s Magnetometer Experiment for scalar measurement of the Earth’s magnetic field; and a whale tracker to monitor whale movements in the South Atlantic Ocean. INVAP supplied the platform, the CCD Camera, and the DGPS. The Silicon Cell Panels were provided by the Argentine National Atomic Energy Commission (Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, CNEA). SAC-C was launched by NASA Space Shuttle flight STS-88 on 14 December 1998 and successfully completed its yearlong mission.

The SAC series satellite, SAC-C, is Argentina’s first Earth Observation Satellite. CONAE collaborated with NASA and the space agencies of Denmark, Italy, Spain, France, and Brazil in preparation for this mission. The satellite provides data for the study of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, atmospheric temperature, water vapor monitoring, variability in the ionosphere structure, measurements of the geomagnetic field, and the long wavelength component of the gravitational field. In addition, it will update low orbit space radiation environment models. The SAC-C satellite was launched on 21 November 2000.

CONAE and NASA are currently collaborating on the SAC-D/Aquarius satellite, under construction by the Argentine high-tech firm INVAP, which is scheduled for launch in 2008.  It will carry a NASA instrument (the Aquarius) to measure the salinity of the oceans, which is a key element in climate change science, and an Argentine-made infrared camera (also made by INVAP) to study soil temperatures.

Auger Project

The Auger Project is a broadly based international effort to make a detailed study of cosmic rays which are fast-moving particles from space that constantly bombard the earth. Their origin is not known, but the highest-energy particles might hold the secrets to the beginning of our universe. The Auger Project involves the construction of two grids of cosmic ray detectors, one in the Northern Hemisphere and another in the Southern Hemisphere. Millard County, Utah, is the Northern Hemisphere detection site.  In September 1996, a team chose Mendoza, Argentina as the Southern Hemisphere site.  The Mendoza site held it’s dedication ceremony in December 2003.

Gemini Project

The Gemini Observatory is a multinational effort that built and operates twin 8.1 meter telescopes. One telescope is located on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, and covers the Northern skies and the other one is located on Chile’s Cerro Pachón covering the Southern skies. Starting early this Century, the Observatory has been fully operational for 15 years now, providing a fruitful cooperation among its partners. In addition to the U.S. and Argentina, participants include the Canada, Chile, Brazil and Australia. The Gemini project is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF).

As members of the Miami Group, the U.S. and Argentina have worked together to protect the Earth’s biological diversity without disrupting world food trade.  The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety negotiated in January 2000 in Montreal will regulate, upon entry into force, trade and other transboundary movement of products modified by genetic engineering.

In the U.S., biotechnology is regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In Argentina, the National Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biosafety (Comision Nacional Asesora de Biotecnologia Agropecuaria, CONABIA) advises the Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries on the design and management of regulations concerning the introduction and environmental release of transgenic material.

The U.S. and Argentina have signed several agreements providing for cooperation between the two countries in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) work closely with the Argentine National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) and the Argentine Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ARN). The parastatal technology firm INVAP is the primary contractor to CNEA and has built nuclear reactors for Egypt, Algeria, and Peru.  In 2000 INVAP won a contract for construction of an Australian research reactor, and, with CNEA, is working on the development of advanced reactor technologies.

Argentina has signed numerous bilateral agreements with the U.S., establishing a strong base for research.  Please see EST-Related Agreements for a list of US and Argentine nuclear agreements:

Argentina also has many nuclear cooperation agreements outside the U.S., including agreements with the European Atomic Agency (EURATOM), Algeria, Armenia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Indonesia, Italy, Morocco, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, Thailand, Turkey, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Russia, the U.K., Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Argentina has also signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1995), the Nuclear Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (1997), the Missile Technology Control Regime (1991), and the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Arms in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco, 1994). In addition, Argentina is a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Atucha y Embalse

NUCLEOELECTRICA ARGENTINA S.A. (NASA) was established on September 7, 1994 with an eye on becoming a key player in the Argentine power generation industry. To achieve such a goal, the company owns and operates two Nuclear Power Plants, Atucha I and Embalse, since 1974 and 1984 respectively. A third one currently under construction, Atucha II will double the power output currently produced by Atucha I and Embalse.