Local conflicts and international compromises: the sustainable use of vicuna in Argentina.

Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy, September, 2003 by Desmond McNeill

The vicuna Vicugna vicugna is a wild South American camelid with a fiber so highly valued that the species was hunted almost to extinction. Strict conservation regulations and international treaties have been successful in causing vicuna populations to recover to a level where it is now possible to develop "sustainable use" programs. In Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Argentina, vicuna management plans have been developed, with differing biological and socioeconomic implications. The major issue is whether vicuna are managed in the wild or in captivity. The aim of this paper is to examine the forces that have, in recent years, shaped policies concerning vicuna management, and especially the underlying conflict between economic growth and conservation. The analysis draws...