ome
5,600 people inhabit Molinos, Salta, some 2 thousand km. north of Buenos Aires.
Molinos is situated in ancient territories of the Kakanos people, one of the
most developed aboriginal communities of what we know today as Argentina’s
Northwest Territory. In the VIII century, the expansion of the Tiahuanaco
culture from the lake Titicaca highlands - presently Bolivia/ Perú –
influenced the Kakanos livelihood. In the late XVI century, the Incas imposed
their culture and language: the "Quechua".
In 1535, the Spanish conqueror Diego de Almagro passed through Molinos, en
route to Chile. Prior to 1659, the Spanish tried four times to establish a city
in this region, but native resistance frustrated these attempts. The natives of
Molinos preserved their traditions, in a dynamic and open manner, surviving 300
years of pre-Hispanic colonial domination.
In 1980, a small group of craftsmen and local farmers launched a project
aimed at improving local commerce, since the revenues obtained from their
handicrafts and agricultural /livestock production depended on middlemen, who
paid very little money for these goods.
The Asociación de Artesanos y Productores "San Pedro Nolasco de los
Molinos" was created in 1983, to establish educational programmes aimed
at preserving their cultural identity; to generate permanent jobs in order to
avoid migration and rootless people, and to promote conservation of wildlife and
their habitats.
In 1994, the Association received the first herd of Vicuñas (Vicugna
vicugna) from the Argentine Government, and established the first
semi-captive breeding operation of the species in the Province of Salta. In
1997, during the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to
CITES, in Harare, Zimbabwe, wild and semi-captive populations of Vicuñas in the
Province of Jujuy, as well as semi-captive populations founded in other
Argentine provinces, including the Molinos’ operation, were unanimously
transferred to Appendix II.
Since then, the Association has been using Vicuña fiber obtained from live
sheared animals to produce high quality handicrafts. Camelidae products ranked
most highly in international markets are: Vicuña and Lama fiber for the textile
industry; handicrafts and clothes made with the fibers of these species; and,
dried Lama meat, which is traded in traditional markets, mainly in Bolivia and
Peru.
To keep this industry prosperous and to ensure conservation of wild stocks of
Vicuña, it will be necessary to redress the issue of habitat deterioration in
the agriculture-ecosystem of the Argentine highlands. Experience has shown that
biodiversity conservation in this ecosystem is possible where direct or indirect
benefits are sufficient to cover conservation costs, and where conservation
measures enhance local cultural diversity. This principle is recognized in the
Convention on Biological Diversity which emphasizes the need to: "respect,
preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and
local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation
and sustainable use of biological diversity and promote their wider application
with the approval and involvement of the holders of such knowledge, innovations
and practices and encourage the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from
the utilisation of such knowledge, innovations and practices".
Argentina faces an enormous dual challenge in preserving the Vicuña. A
national census of all Vicuña is required in the north, the results of which
are likely to determine that the Argentine population can be transferred to
Appendix II. In the South, programmes are needed to promote the sustainable use
of other family members, such as the Guanaco (Lama guanicoe), a species totally
forgotten due to a preoccupation with livestock production. Livestock presently
deliver very low revenue value, while producing extremely negative impacts on
the fragile Patagonian ecosystem. A sustainable conservation strategy for the
Vicuña offers an opportunity to develop local resources, while promoting
cultural and biological diversity in Argentina. 
