U.S. philanthropist Gilbert Butler bought six islands on the Uruguay River and donated three in Uruguay (1,270 acres) to the National System of Protected Areas. Three Argentine islands (about 6,425 acres) will be donated to create a provincial park and combined with public land to reach roughly 9,884 acres. The Green Islands And Channels project aims to create a continuous transboundary ecological corridor to protect wetlands, biodiversity and promote low-impact ecotourism while strengthening local economies.
U.S. Philanthropist Funds Creation Of First Binational Park On Uruguay River
A boat navigates the Uruguay River in the Province of Entre Rios, Argentina, in 2023. File Photo by Juan Ignacio Roncoroni/EPA
U.S. philanthropist Gilbert Butler has purchased six islands along the Uruguay River and donated three of them to Uruguay to form part of what supporters hope will become the region's first binational park shared with Argentina.
What Happened
Butler transferred the Uruguayan islands Chala, Inga and Pinguino to the Uruguayan state. These parcels lie in the Uruguay River within the Rio Negro Department and total about 1,270 acres. Uruguayan authorities have incorporated them into the country's National System of Protected Areas (SNAP), calling the gift unprecedented.
“Nothing like this has been seen for decades,” President Yamandu Orsi said at the ceremony accepting the islands.
On the Argentine side of the river, Butler previously acquired three islands—Dolores, San Genaro and Campichuelo—in Entre Ríos province. Those islands cover roughly 6,425 acres and are planned for donation to create a provincial nature park. Provincial officials say they will add about 3,459 acres of public land to the donated core, bringing the protected total on the Argentine side to approximately 9,884 acres.
Green Islands And Channels Project
The six islands form the project called Green Islands And Channels Of The Uruguay River, an effort to establish a continuous transboundary ecological corridor along one of the Southern Cone's most important freshwater basins. The initiative emphasizes wetland protection, riverine biodiversity, ecological connectivity and sustainable, low-impact ecotourism that supports local restorative economies.
Uruguayan officials noted that at least two of the donated islands already include basic public-use infrastructure—docks, shelters and restrooms—designed for environmental education and low-impact visitation.
In a public statement, Butler said his goal is to create a binational park and criticized converting river islands to eucalyptus or soybean plantations as "an ecological disaster." Local and provincial authorities from Rio Negro (Uruguay) and Entre Ríos (Argentina) acknowledged that coordinating management across borders presents logistical and legal challenges, but they described the project as a potential regional model for shared conservation.
Legal And Local Context
Public debate in Uruguay has resurfaced over the ownership status of river islands. Under current legal frameworks, river islands are registered parcels that may be privately or publicly owned regardless of the owner's nationality, and they can be incorporated into protected-area systems even if previously private. Records and local media indicate these islands were privately owned since the 1990s after a transfer tied to a commercial debt settlement. Previous attempts at productive agriculture failed repeatedly because of flooding tied to the river's hydrological cycle.
Next Steps: Authorities in both countries will need to coordinate management plans, visitor access, conservation rules and long-term financing to turn the donated parcels and surrounding public lands into a contiguous transboundary protected area.
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