Buenos Aires, May 18 (IANS/EFE): The Conservation Land Trust, a project of US philanthropists and environmental activists Douglas and Kris Tompkins, donated 15,000 hectares for the expansion of Perito Moreno National Park in southern Argentina.

The donation was formalized at a ceremony presided over by Argentine Tourism Minister Enrique Meyer, who described the CLT's action as "moving".

Nine years ago, the CLT provided 60,000 hectares of land to create Monte Leon National Park, also in Argentina's far south.

The latest parcel is part of the lands of the Tompkins' El Rincon estate, located opposite the south face of Mount San Lorenzo in Santa Cruz province.

"As a conservation agent, I want to highlight this initiative, which makes it clear that conservation has no borders," the president of Argentina's National Parks Administration, Carlos Corvalan, said at the ceremony.

"The sensation of being part of the process of creating a protected area is incomparable," Douglas Tompkins said, urging others in the private sector to follow his example.