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Conservation Project News

Conservation projects news from the World Land Trust, an international wildlife conservation charity working to protect threatened wildlife habitats worldwide.

This page shows the most recent projects news updates, or a selection of posts in the same category. To read older posts, use the projects news archive in the navigation bar on this page. The newest posts can always be found at www.worldlandtrust.org/news/projects-news.htm.

Conservation projects news on this page:

Wednesday, 30 April 2008:

Paraguayan government to conserve over 2.5-million acres thanks to WLT donors 

Alberto Yanosky, Exec. Director of Guyra Paraguay (left) and Carlos Antonio Lopez-Doze, Paraguay's Minister of the Environment sign the agreement in the UNDP Meeting Room, Asuncion, on 11 March 2008.


John Burton, WLT CEO (and Alberto Yanosky) speaking at the meeting when the Minister of the Environment announced the co-management agreement.


Aerial photo of the Dry Chaco, showing extensive soil erosion (light brown patches) where the vegetation has been degraded. See a larger image here.

WLT is currently funding the purchase of three very different habitats in Paraguay: Dry Chaco (Campo Iris), the Chaco-Pantanal Reserve and Atlantic Forest (San Rafael). Each is unique and all are threatened, primarily by the spread of agriculture, and in particular the growing market for biofuels and soya.

Even the Dry Chaco, a seemingly impenetrable habitat, isn't safe as a new dry-adapted variety of soy has been developed and trials are already taking place in the Chaco. But there is good news...

In March the Government of Paraguay signed an innovative co-management agreement which will conserve over 2.5-million acres of threatened habitat in Paraguay. This initial agreement is with the WLT's partners, Guyra Paraguay and in making the announcement, the Minister of the Environment, Carlos Antonio Lopez-Doze, supported by the Minister of Tourism, Liz Cramer, stated that the support of the World Land Trust and its donors in recognising the international importance of Paraguay's biodiversity, was a key factor in this momentous decision.

Over the next few months a formal tri-party Agreement between the Ministry of the Environment, Guyra Paraguay and the World Land Trust will be drawn up and signed, giving Guyra Paraguay the responsibility for the management of the Northern Chaco Biosphere Reserve, as well as the Atlantic Rainforest of San Rafael, on behalf of the people of Paraguay.

The role of the WLT will be to co-ordinate international fundraising to support the conservation of the region, as well as providing technical assistance on carbon sequestration and 'avoided deforestation' projects which is all part of the overall vision for the Reserve.

Message from Sir David Attenborough congratulating the Government of Paraguay on its decision to protect the Dry Chaco:

"This is one of the last great wilderness areas left in the world, and it is hugely encouraging that much of it is still as it was when I was there half a century ago. The Government of Paraguay is to be congratulated on recognising the international importance of its wild heritage. Not only is it vital to save the incredible biodiversity of the region but part of the land is also home to people who still live in the forests largely unaffected by the outside world. I think it is wonderful that the World Land Trust has been able to play such an important role in saving it for future generations and I hope the rest of the world will respond generously and support WLT as it raises funds for the long term protection of this vast wildlife paradise."
Sir David Attenborough, Patron, World Land Trust

Learn more about the World Land Trust's Chaco/Pantanal Project in Paraguay

Labels: Paraguay

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Friday, 29 February 2008:

Jaguar captured in broad day light (Paraguay) 

A jaguar "posing" on the side of Río Negro, close to the Three Giants Lodge. © Veronique Gerard. See a larger version here.

This jaguar was captured by a camera set up to photograph deer at the Chaco-Pantanal Reserve. (That's its over-exposed head and ear to the right!) See a larger version here.

Three Giants visitor lodge. See a larger version here.

An aerial view of the reserve in the Pantanal, with Three Giants Lodge just visible on the side of the river as a small square. The lodge is surrounded by Copernicia palm savannah, which provides excellent jaguar habitat. See a larger version here.


WLT's diploma students: Martyn Griffiths, Tracie Long and Natalie Evans, at a music event they organised to raise funds for their Paraguay projects.

This jaguar snapped on the left was sent to us by Pepe Cartes of Guyra Paraguay, and was taken in the Chaco-Pantanal Reserve by Veronique Gerard.

Everyone at the World Land Trust was excited and not a little envious when seeing the photo - particularly the WLT's CEO, John Burton, who, despite travelling extensively in South America has yet to see a jaguar in the wild! But that may be about to change as John is travelling to the Pantanal next week.

Jaguars in the Pantanal

The Pantanal is located in the north-east of the Paraguay and borders Brazil and Bolivia. It provides a semi-open habitat, with vast wetlands and palm-savannahs offering plenty of prey for the jaguars - and therefore some opportunities for intrepid travellers to spot them.

While it is generally extremely difficult to glimpse a jaguar in the wild, in the Pantanal it is slightly more likely, and a group from the WLT consisting of three staff members and five supporters are travelling there in early March with united hope that they may be lucky. Jaguars have been seen outside the Three Giants Lodge where they will be staying for a few nights so we can't wait to hear from them.

Tony Hawks and WLT students to travel to Paraguay 

A member of the WLT group travelling to Paraguay next week is writer and comedian Tony Hawks. Tony will be writing about his experiences and will be giving a talk to WLT supporters later in the year.

A couple of weeks later, the Trust's three diploma students are also heading out to Paraguay, where they will undertake projects aimed at helping Guyra Paraguay in their conservation efforts. This is what they will be doing:

Tracie Long: "I will be staying at The Three Giants Lodge where, due to its location, the surrounding habitat has remained relatively unexplored. My project will involve using simple light traps to investigate the species of hawk and emperor moths present." The study, which will provide Guyra with basic data on which hawk and emperor moths are present, will result in a field guide to be used at the lodge by future visitors.

Martyn Griffiths will be in the small and very isolated community Bahía Negra for his project work. Together with the few other communities in the area, which include both campesino (landless peasants) and indigenous populations, Bahía Negra lies within a couple of hours' boat trip from the Three Giants Lodge.

Martin, who will conduct interviews to assess attitudes towards conservation and hunting, says: "It's clear local communities need to be involved within conservation projects, and the sharing of any benefits, to ensure success."

Natalie Evans' project is taking place in the south east of Paraguay, where fragments of Atlantic Forest remain among deserts of agricultural land, including soya plantations.

"I will be looking into responsible methods of soybean production in the region and in particular at Guyra Paraguay's pilot soybean project in the Atlantic rainforest in Paraguay to assess its potential for success", says Natalie, whose project will involve interviews with representatives of all stakeholders in the soy production industry including indigenous people, campesinos, small farmers, NGOs, local government and trans-national companies.

Learn more about the Chaco/Pantanal Project in Paraguay

Labels: Paraguay

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New land purchases in Ecuador and Paraguay 

New land has been bought in Ecuador adjacent to Yanacocha (top), and in Paraguay in San Rafael (middle) and in the Dry Chaco (bottom). (Click on the images to see larger versions.)

88 hectares in Ecuador:

World Land Trust project partners in Ecuador, Fundación Jocotoco, have recently purchased a strategic piece of land to expand their reserve at Yanacocha. This 88 hectare area is situated in high altitude Polylepis forest, a habitat type which is seriously depleted throughout the Andes.

The purchase was vital as the land was likely to be developed if it had not been secured by Jocotoco.

The land is targeted for tree planting to restore the forest that has been lost and will guarantee employment for Jocotoco staff for an additional two years.

600 hectares in San Rafael, Paraguay:

In Paraguay, WLT partner organisation Guyra Paraguay have managed to add more land to two of their reserves; San Rafael and the Dry Chaco.

The purchase of 600 hectares adjacent to Guyra's core reserve area in San Rafael National Park means that they now manage and protect 6,600 hectares of endangered Atlantic Rainforest in the south-east of Paraguay.

The demonstrable support from WLT donors has enabled matched funding from two US foundations: WLT-US and American Bird Conservancy. With continued commitment from WLT Guyra aims to secure more habitat as well as continuing to carry out forest restoration and research.

3,500 hectares in the Chaco, Paraguay:

Guyra recently secured 3,500 hectares of threatened arid habitat in the northwest of Paraguay - their first purchase in this region. The next phase of Guyra's project in the Dry Chaco is the purchase of 3,000 hectares with the overall aim to eventually secure 13,000 hectares in total.

The Dry Chaco is an extremely vulnerable ecosystem and is disappearing at an alarming rate. As well as being overwhelmed by agricultural expansion the Dry Chaco is particularly vulnerable to disturbance.

John Burton, WLT CEO, visited the Dry Chaco recently and he says "it was astounding how the tracks of tanks used in the Chaco War in the 1930s were still visible - the habitat is so fragile it can take a century or more to regenerate."

Please help us save this unique habitat:
Make a donation to the Chaco/Pantanal Project.

Learn more about WLT's projects in Ecuador and Paraguay:

• Help Save the Rainforests: Tropical Forest Project, Ecuador
• Saving the Paraguayan Landscapes: Chaco/Pantanal Project, Paraguay

Edit 3rd March: The recent purchase in the Dry Chaco was for 3,500 ha, not 350 ha as previously stated, and the next purchase is for 3,000 ha, not 300 ha.

Labels: Ecuador, Paraguay

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Friday, 14 December 2007:

Please support Guyra Paraguay's community work in the Pantanal (Paraguay) 

Top: The Eco club on a visit to the Three Giants lodge, together with Guyra staff. Above: The radio station at Bahía Negra.

WLT's Web Information Manager, Helena Åkerlund, recently visited the reserves in Paraguay and came back with lots of praise for the work of Guyra Paraguay - as well as an appeal. "Guyra is seeking funding to help the local radio station in the Pantanal settlement of Bahía Negra and to build a small, simple lodge for staff to stay in whilst working in Bahía Negra and at the Chaco-Pantanal Reserve", Helena explains.

Radio Bahía Negra was started with a grant obtained by the local Eco Club - a group of enthusiastic teenagers who, with the help of Guyra Paraguay, are learning about conservation and reserve management. The radio station provides a vital service to the very isolated community at Bahía Negra, but is housed in a simple building without a proper floor, making the high-tech equipment vulnerable to rain water seeping in. A simple concrete floor would cost less than $100 and would make all the difference.

Guyra staff working at the reserve currently have to pay other organisations or individuals for overnight accommodation when they visit the area. "A small lodge, providing rustic accommodation, would make their lives a lot easier, and their visits more cost-effective", says Helena. The plan is to build the accommodation in the grounds of the radio station, where it is ideally located for Guyra Paraguay's work with the local community.

This type of funding falls outside WLT's land purchase remit, but we know our supporters are keen to get involved in the projects - and this gives you an opportunity to contribute directly to a local initiative in an extremely isolated part of Paraguay. To make a donation towards Guyra's community work in the Pantanal, please donate to the Chaco/Pantanal Project, Paraguay as normal, but indicate that you would like the money to go to Bahia Negra (in the "extra requirements" or "comments" box if donating online, or by mentioning it to WLT staff if donating by phone.)

Labels: Paraguay

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Thursday, 13 December 2007:

WLT's Paraguayan partners celebrate their 10th Anniversary (Paraguay) 

On Wednesday, 21 November, Guyra Paraguay was Ten Years Old. During the year they have held various events to celebrate their ten years of conservation achievement and this photograph shows the three directors of Guyra Paraguay over the years. On the left is Alberto Madroño, in the centre Alberto Yanosky (current Director) and on the right Francis Fragano.

About the photo Alberto Yanosky commented that everyone knows that the the new Lodge on the Pantanal reserve, funded by WLT supporters, is called The Three Giants because of the three endangered 'giants' found in the reserve area: Giant Otter, Giant Anteater and Giant Armadillo, but at the party the three Directors were also given the name The Three Giants!

Guyra Paraguay is a wonderful partner organisation and everyone at WLT sends their very best wishes for the next Ten Years.

Labels: Paraguay

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Wednesday, 24 October 2007:

New and updated projects pages for Chaco/Pantanal Project (Paraguay) 

The World Land Trust website has just been updated with exiting new information on our work with Guyra Paraguay in three different areas of Paraguay:

• Chaco-Pantantal Reserve (grassland and wetland habitat)
• San Rafael Reserve (Atlantic Forest habitat)
• NEW reserve in the dry Chaco (dry grassland habitat)

Labels: Paraguay

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Thursday, 26 July 2007:

Otter spotting in the Pantanal (Paraguay) 

Two curious otters. (Click on the photo to see a larger image.)

Alberto Yanosky, of GUYRA Paraguay, World Land Trust partner organisation in Paraguay, sent this fantastic photo with the following comment:

"This is a photo of the giant otter family living in front of the biological station in our reserves in the pantanal. They are really close and visit the site very curiously every day at 7 am!"

The Giant Otter is one of three endangered 'giants' found in the reserve area. The other two are the Giant Anteater and Giant Armadillo and a lodge currently being constructed in the reserve has been given the name Three Giants Lodge.

Labels: Paraguay

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The Three Giants Lodge becomes a reality (Paraguay) 

The lodge building work in progress...

...and the builders, taking a well deserved break.

Funded largely by WLT Council Member, Kevin Cox, the Three Giants Lodge, in Guyra Paraguay's Pantanal reserve, is now becoming a reality. WLT Partners, Guyra Paraguay, have overseen the construction of the lodge itself. The Three Giants Lodge is so named because of the three endangered 'giants' found in the reserve area: Giant Otter, Giant Anteater and Giant Armadillo.

Guyra staff member, Pepe Cartes, wrote to us recently saying that the workers building the lodge had, several times, come face to face with a Jaguar who appeared to be curious about what was going on. They have decided that basic security rules need to be established at the Lodge! He also said that Giant Otters were seen most days and that the workers had developed special calls to attract them; they too are interested in the activity and seem to enjoy the workers' presence. John Burton, WLT CEO, who has yet to see a Jaguar in the wild, is hoping that he might come 'face-to-face' with a Jaguar on his visit to the Three Giants Lodge later this year.

Labels: Paraguay

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