When one comes across Pablo “Popi” García Borborogluthe first thing that surprises is his energy: he speaks with the same passion with which he decided to embrace the cause of penguins almost forty years ago. Conservationist, scientist, communicator and even judicial activist, he is a man who always seems to have one foot in two worlds: the mud of seabird colonies and the international auditoriums where he exhibits his findings. His life is crossed by a childhood marked by his grandmother Melania’s stories about Patagonia, an oil spill that pushed him to action, and the conviction that scientific knowledge must be translated into real impact and that true power lies in perseverance and collective action. From Puerto Madryn, where the headquarters of the Global Penguin Society (GPS)the first and only global organization that works in 20 countries with the aim of guaranteeing a future for penguins and, with them, for the ecosystems they inhabit, became a global reference in marine conservation. He has received awards from international organizations such as the 2019 Rolex Award for Initiative, a biannual award that is awarded to those who have a project for the good of the community. In 2023 he was the first Latin American to receive the Indianapolis Conservation Award, considered the “Nobel” in this area, and this year he was awarded the Rolex National Geographic Explorer Awardwhich places him in a select group of global references, and led him to share the stage with figures such as Jane Goodall or David Attenborough, he remains convinced that penguins are not only an emblem of tenderness, but also key indicators of the state of the planet.
News: How did your bond with penguins begin?
Pablo García Borboroglu: It all started with my grandmother Melania. She had grown up in Patagonia and told me stories about when she visited the colonies, in a time without routes or roads. I was born in Trelew, but I spent my childhood in Mar del Plata and hearing that was like hearing stories from Mars. I wanted to be an ambassador. I studied languages and wanted to study law. Since my uncle had a travel agency and needed a guide with languages, I traveled to Chubut. When I was 19 I saw my first penguin, and I also encountered a tremendous reality: beaches full of oiled, dead or sick birds. I couldn’t believe it and everything was so natural. One day, being surrounded by thousands of penguins in a colony, I felt an instant connection. In ’91 there was a tremendous spill that affected 17,000 penguins. At that time, 40 thousand died a year in Chubut. I was already studying biology at the National University of Patagonia San Juan Bosco and together with some colleagues we set up a rehabilitation center in Punta Tombo, and that work helped make the cause visible. Years later we managed to move the oil routes away from the coast: today, of those 40,000, less than twenty die. There I confirmed that perseverance in conservation is power.
News: What secrets of penguins surprise those who study them closely?
Borboroglu: Many. For example, they have ultraviolet vision, a world of colors that humans cannot even imagine. They are faithful, because the only strategy to raise live chicks is to have a stable partner. One takes care of the nest and the eggs, while the other looks for food. The Magellanic penguin, for example, can maintain a mate for 17 years. The way of breeding also varies: the Emperor and the King lay a single egg and incubate it on their legs because there is no material to make a nest in Antarctica. Instead, the Magellans put two.
News: Why are they so special?
Borboroglu: Because they concentrate everything. They live on land and in the sea, so they accumulate threats from both environments: oil, fishing, plastics, human disturbances. And they are also excellent indicators: when a penguin changes its behavior, it is because something is happening on the coast or in the ocean. They warn you before anyone else. Giving penguins a voice is, in reality, defending the entire marine ecosystem.
News: What prompted you to found the Global Penguin Society?
Borboroglu: As a scientist he published “papers” in English in international journals. But I wondered: “Who in the local administration reads this?” At a conference in Tasmania I saw that we were all describing the problems, as if we were writing scientifically that our house was on fire, but no one came out to put out the fire. The environmental issue is not a priority; It is not on the public policy agendas and science is necessary, but not sufficient to solve the planet’s problems. We had to work to change people’s behavior, which is what translates into concrete conservation action. So I thought about creating an organization that would transform good science into concrete action.
News: What were the most concrete achievements?
Borboroglu: Until now we ensure the conservation of 13 million hectares in protected areas. We created the Punta Tombo protected area of 3.1 million hectares: the UNESCO Patagonia Azul Biosphere Reserve in Chubut. This gave it international renown: it is the 15th reserve with the largest ocean area in Argentina and more than 1,000 described species. 40% of the world’s Magellanic penguin population is found there. Our model was replicated in different countries and grew in education: we have already taken more than 13,000 kids to meet penguins.
News: One of your greatest challenges was the trial in Punta Tombo (Chubut). What did it mean?
Borboroglu: Without a doubt. In 2021, a businessman destroyed part of a colony with a backhoe, destroying nests and preventing adults from feeding their chicks again. It was something very hard. But it was key, from that trial we managed to recognize the importance of that colony and establish legislation to protect it. We obtained the first conviction for ecocide in Argentina and precedents were set: tourism, fishing or any activity can be carried out, but with permits and with little coherence. Thanks to that, the province expanded the protected area from 200 to 1,600 hectares, where today 360,000 penguins breed.
News: He has received international awards, and even shared moments with Jane Goodall and David Attenborough. What do these recognitions leave you?
Borboroglu: They are enormous recognition, because they help make the work visible. They serve to legitimize and to get people to look at you. The Indianapolis Award and now the ROLEX National Geographic Award allow me to take the cause to international forums and add support. If we pass their filter, people perceive that our work is serious, with strict protocols and it opens doors for us in spaces where we do not usually be: fashion, luxury, circles of great global impact. That opens doors to financing. Because there are plenty of ideas, but the limiting thing is the resources: satellites, equipment, educators, lawyers, communicators.
News: What is a day like at your job?
Borboroglu: It can be very crazy. One day I’m lying in the mud with the penguins, in the rain, and the next in a palace in a suit, talking at a dinner with Princess Anne of England. In the field we measure, weigh, place transmitters, follow nests. Then comes the scientific and political part: reports, talks, meetings with governments. There is also the educational aspect: taking children to a penguin colony is fascinating. And now the documentaries: we participated in “Secrets of the Penguins”, produced by James Cameron, which was key to this year’s award.
News: What role do the new generations have in all this?
Borboroglu: They are one of my great sources of optimism. I was excited by my grandmother’s story because at school no one talked about the environment. Today kids receive that message everywhere.
News: What would you say to your grandmother Melania today?
Borboroglu: I hope she’s proud. That everything I did I owe to her and the penguins. When I go to a colony I ask for help, I feel it present. Thanks to the penguins I met Laurita, my wife, and I was even able to show my children that dreams, no matter how crazy they may seem, can come true. Who wants to be a biologist in Argentina and survive? (laughs). You don’t have to be a biologist to do conservation. There is a place for journalists, psychologists, engineers, financiers. Each one, with their passion, can contribute.
News: After more than 30 years of work, what do you have left to learn the most?
Borboroglu: You have to spend more time looking for solutions than describing problems. And you don’t have to let yourself be stopped. The penguins taught me that: go against obstacles, keep going. From Patagonia to the world, they became ambassadors of a message that transcends borders: The future of ten million species depends on just one, us.
