Environment

The bushfires that tore through the Australian state of Victoria in February 2009 incinerated over a million acres of land, including key mountain ash forest ecosystems. Fires are a natural force of nature which spur regeneration, but the immediate aftermath of this giant firestorm was devastation.

It is the last great wilderness of its kind, a rare and precious haven for some of Earth’s most indestructible creatures. Covering more than half-a-million square miles of Chile and Argentina, this wild place known as Patagonia is under pressure from human encroachment despite its remote location. This National Geographic Special shines the spotlight on this extraordinary place and the innovative conservation models that will help preserve the pristine wilderness, ensuring that it lives on — intact — for future generations.