Protected Areas in South America

The Andino Norpatagónica Biosphere Reserve is located in Argentina's northwestern Patagonia. It comprises five national parks and numerous other protected areas. The landscape is mostly mountainous, dominated by the Andes in the west, with sub-Andean plains and plateaus in the east.

Canaima National Park is located in southeastern Venezuela, along the border between Guyana and Brazil, partially covered by table mountain formations. The sheer cliffs and waterfalls, including Angel Falls, the world's highest, form a spectacular landscape.

Aparados da Serra National Park was created in 1959 as one of Brazil's first national parks. Located within the Serra Geral range in the south of Brazil, it contains rich biodiversity as the result of its diverse relief and of being situated at the intersection between coastal forests, grasslands and Araucaria moist forests.

Araguaia National Park is located on Bananal Island in the Brazilian state of Tocantins. It is the largest known river island on Earth. The northern one-third of the island, which is designated as a National Park, is a popular destination for ecotourism. The southern two-thirds are indigenous territories.

The Atlantic Forest Southeast Reserves contain some of the best and most extensive examples of Atlantic Forest in Brazil. The 25 protected areas that make up the site display the biological wealth and evolutionary history of one of the most threatened biomes in the world.

The Aucanquilcha volcano is located in the Antofagasta Region of northern Chile, between the Loa River and the border with Bolivia, within the Alto Loa National Reserve. It is part of the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes. Several sulfur mines lie in the Aucanquilcha complex.

Bahía Portete – Kaurrele National Natural Park is situated on the La Guajira Peninsula in the extreme north of Colombia, along the coast of the Caribbean Sea. It conserves important ecosystems that include sedimentary beds, seagrass meadows, coral formations, mangroves, beaches and rocky coastline.

Bahuaja-Sonene National Park of Peru is part of the world's largest multinational tropical protected area. It protects an area comprised of tropical rainforest, savanna, flooded grasslands, hills and mountains, harboring some of the wildest and least-impacted habitats in the world.

The Bañados del Este Biosphere Reserve comprises a remarkable complex of ecosystems and a vast complex of coastal wetlands. Together, these form a rich habitat for an assortment of wildlife, including myriad species that are categorized as near-threatened or endangered.

One of the first protected areas to be established in Bolivia, the Beni Biosphere Reserve is located at the convergence of three biogeographical zones: the Amazon, the Chaco and the Cerrado. The reserve is home to important indigenous Amazonian groups.