Douglas Tompkins

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Douglas Tompkins (born 1943 in New York) is an American radical ecologist and multimillionaire businessman.

For a long time, Tompkins was the owner of the ESPRIT clothing company. He sold it on 1990 and decided to invest his money on the protection of nature. The principal areas he has invested his money on are Argentina and Chile, although he began his campaign in Canada.

His methods are quite controversial due to their fundamentalist ideology: buying large terrains in strategic areas for ecology (usually big water reserves) and trying to recover virgin nature. Afterwards, he assures legally the irreversibility of this procedure and donates the lands to the administrations of national parks. The idea behind this is that humans beings must end activities that modify mother nature.

Today, Tompkins owns lands principally in three areas: southern Chile (Pumalín Park, Valle Chacabuco), southern Argentina (the Santa Cruz River Basin), and northeastern Argentina (Esteros del Iberá in the Corrientes Province).

Tompkins has had various conflicts with rural workers in the lands he has brought. Some have accused Tompkins of mistreating workers who refuse to leave their lands, especially in the Esteros del Iberá area. Such activities have also been reported in the town of Huinay, which divides the Pumalín Park into two parts and which Tompkins is attempting to buy in order to unite his park.

For his part, the ecologist is in conflict with large businesses, especially foresting businesses, who see his activities as threatening their activities. In Chile he had had disputes with governmental bodies who don't agree with his radical methods. Many groups in both Argentina and Chile see Tompkins' activities as threatening to the sovereignty of their countries.