126. Sofia Heinonen: Rewilding Argentina and beyond

Access to Inspiration

Sue Stockdale talks to Sofia Heinonen, Executive Director of Rewilding Argentina. Sofia shares her journey from a young girl fascinated by the natural world to leading significant conservation efforts in Argentina and beyond. She discusses her initial work in national parks and how her encounter with conservationists Doug and Kris Tompkins profoundly influenced her perspective, shifting her focus from merely protecting land to actively restoring and rewilding ecosystems.
About Sofia Heinonen
Sofía Heinonen was born and raised in Buenos Aires where she trained as a biologist. An activist by nature, she has spent more than thirty years designing large-scale and long-term projects to create protected areas and restore natural ecosystems. Sofía was part of Fundación Vida Silvestre and the National Parks Administration before joining the Iberá Project in 2005, led by Doug and Kris Tompkins (CLT Argentina), which Rewilding Argentina would later continue.
She is currently Executive Director where she leads four projects that cover more than one million hectares and a team of more than 200 people.
In 2022, the BBC recognised her as one of the 100 most influential women on the planet.

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Time Stamps
02:34 - Rewilding Argentina's Mission
04:01 - Achievements in Iberá Wetland
06:30 - Economic and Legal Challenges
08:28 - Personal Challenges and Growth
10:25 - The Impact of Rewilding on Iberá
14:37 - Cultural and Mindset Changes
18:15 - Vision for Expanding Conservation Efforts
22:08 - Leadership and Inspiration
28:17 - The Importance of Perspective
34:27 - Passing the Baton
Key Quotes

• "Doug Tompkins said it will take time, but eventually we will win because the law is on our side, and in 20 years nobody will remember the conflicts."
• "It was like a big war in the sense of changing of land use and changing of paradigm and change the economy."
• "Changing culture is really the big issue with climate change."
• “We need to change the context that get the jaguars to become extinct. And that is economy, the culture and the way we perceive the territory."
• “We are facing now this big challenge of trying to reconnect South America through the rivers. And that is our vision for the next 20 years."
• "I'm 100% passionate about what I do. It's not work, it's life."
• "We work for nature and to restore nature, but nature is basically the way we restore ourselves. In a way, it's like rewilding our own spirit."
• "I think to be more conscious that we can make a change is a good thing".

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Producer: Sue Stockdale
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra
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