Project Partner Organisation: GUYRA PARAGUAY www.guyra.org.py Contact Guyra

Saving the Paraguayan Landscapes

Chaco/Pantanal Project, Paraguay

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Project areas
Conservation in Paraguay
Species Diversity
More Information

Project Areas

WLT has been working in Paraguay, with our partners GUYRA Paraguay, since late 2005 when a legacy left by East Anglian businessman, Sid Templer, enabled the creation of a 8,650 acre (3,600 ha) reserve in Chaco-Pantanal (grassland and wetland habitat). Since, then, with the help of other generous individual supporters of WLT, the Chaco-Pantanal reserve has been increased to almost 24,000 acres (10,000 ha). Additionally it has been possible for us to begin two more projects in Paraguay: land purchase of Interior Atlantic Forest habitat in the San Rafael National Park; and land purchase and creation of a brand new reserve in the Dry Chaco (dry grassland habitat).

Paraguay contains areas of five different key habitats: Atlantic Forest, Humid Chaco, Dry Chaco, Pantanal and Cerrado. (The three project areas are highlighted with red circles.) See a larger version of the map (use your back-button to return here.)

Conservation in Paraguay

Paraguay is a land locked country, and is a meeting point for several major habitats, including lowland rainforest, grassland, wetlands, dry and humid forest ecosystems. While South America is famous for its rainforests, these other habitats are less well known. Paraguay's chaco grasslands are very important for wildlife mainly due to the open nature of the habitat, but they too are severely threatened as they can easily be converted to cattle pasture. Similarly, the Pantanal, the world's largest wetland spreading from North-West Brazil into Bolivia, is an area of huge biodiversity but is also in imminent danger as a result of both habitat destruction and pollution. Some scientists believe that these lesser known habitats (including dry forest ecosystems) are even more threatened than the rainforest regions.

Giant anteater - one of the rare mammals found in the project areas. © Bruce Pearson

Species Diversity

This shifting 'eco-tonal' habitat contains a large number and concentration of animals common to both pantanal and chaco habitats, many of which are threatened or endangered.

• 117 species of mammals, including the Giant Anteater, Giant Otter, Giant Armadillo and four other armadillo species, Jaguar, Puma, Ocelot, five species of monkey and Capybara (a large aquatic relative of the guinea pig).
• There are more than 600 species of birds including Hyacinth Macaw. The region is especially important for aquatic birds including the Neotropical Cormorant, Snowy Egret and Wood Stork.

The World Land Trust is now urgently raising funds to save more of the Chaco/Pantanal as land becomes available which could be added to existing reserve areas.

Other ways of supporting the Chaco/Pantanal project

15 Ways You Can Help Save Rainforest and Other Threatened Wildlife Habitats

More information

You can learn more about the project by following the links below.

The three reserve areas:

• Chaco-Pantanal Reserve
• San Rafael Reserve
• Dry Chaco

Other links:

• Project updates
• External link: Acres of Paraguayan wetland saved (BBC News article)
• External link: Guyra Paraguay (in Spanish)