The creation of a pioneering
nature reserve in Paraguay.
The land purchase and protection initiative is considered a new conservation
strategy and a possible model for conservation in other Latin American
countries.
Indeed, an indigenous community
and an NGO have recently jointly purchased a piece of land which both parties
were committed to conserving. Funds for the purchase were provided by a number
of donors, including a Swedish citizen, a young traveller who cycled from
Paraguay to the United States, and a couple who, as their wedding present,
asked for money to go towards land purchase for conservation.
Since this land purchase, a
similar innovative model has been used in Argentina. It is also being used to
undertake another purchase which is currently being negotiated in Paraguay.
Furthermore, the model has been presented and discussed as a showcase in
various international meetings in a number of countries.
Aside from the second similar
land purchase recently completed in Argentina
“there is currently no other case of joint social and environmental ownership
of a natural area in Latin America”, explained
biologist Alberto Yanosky to BBC Mundo. Alberto Yanosky is the director of
Guyra Paraguay,
the conservation NGO involved in the joint ownership of the purchased property.
Joint ownership
“Ownership of the land had been
claimed by the Mbya Guaraní people for years. They called the land Tekohá Guasú
(“Great Home Territory”),
but it remained privately-owned property”, explained Alberto Yanosky.
The Swedish citizen Hans Swegen
provided the majority of the funds used for the land purchase.
“The purchase initiative stemmed
from a request voiced by two Cacique brothers who wanted to work with us.
They, like us, wanted to protect the forest.”
One of the most moving moments
for Alberto Yanosky was when Eusebio Chaparro, one of the two Caciques, signed
the land title document using his fingerprint.
The purchased site is situated in
Southern Paraguay in one of the few Atlantic
Rainforest fragments remaining in the country, and covers 274 hectares. Two
members of the Mbya community have now become park rangers on the property.
Meanwhile, Guyra Paraguay
and another local NGO, Promotores Ambientales de San Rafael, continue to work permanently at
the site, in collaboration with the local community led by Eusebio Chaparro.
The signed agreement states that
in 10 years’ time, Guyra Paraguay will donate its indivisible 50% of the
property to the indigenous community, on the condition that forest conservation
is ensured and that sufficient capacity has been built for this purpose amongst
the local community. Guyra Paraguay also maintains the right to supervise the
property to ensure that the forest is adequately conserved, and to protect it
from any potential threat.
Innovative donors
The Atlantic Rainforest extends
over large areas of Brazil, Argentina and Southern Paraguay. Today, only 7% of
the original forested area remains, and it is home to a large number of endemic
species (species only found in this fragment)
“BirdLife International helped us
find an interested donor, Hans Swegen, a Swedish citizen who lives in England
and who has even come out to visit the property “, Yanosky explained.
“We then obtained the remaining
necessary funds from Samuel Hagler, who cycled from Paraguay to the US, raising
finds using a land purchase and protection message (Ride for the Trees)”.
The rest of the funding was
donated by Peter Hansen and Diana Días de Espada, “who collected
donations for Guyra Paraguay as their wedding present, in order to contribute
towards land purchase for conservation. All donors are duly recognised in
the land title document.”
The same innovative land purchase
model has since been used in nearby Misiones Province, Argentina in order to
purchase a property jointly with Mbya Guarani communities (relatives of the
Paraguay Mbya Guarani communities) who live there. This property is situated in
the Yaboti Biosphere Reserve, near the Mocona falls and was purchased by a
local Argentinian NGO, with support from international conservation NGO, World
Land Trust.
“We are currently in the process
of acquiring a new property, based on a similar agreement, with assistance from
BirdLife International and funding from the Jensen Foundation”
Guyra Paraguay has already
purchased a number of properties for conservation purposes. However, Yanosky
believes that this model for land purchase involving joint ownership with
indigenous communities using international funding can be a very useful model
for a number of other countries. “We have taken part in discussions in Canada,
Cameroon, Vietnam, the Philippines and London. During these meetings, the model
has been debated and discussed as an option that will ensure conservation of
natural resources whilst ensuring recognition of indigenous people’s rights and
return of the land to these ancestral communities “.
Bare-throated Bellbird
The Bare-throated
Bellbird - Procnias nudicollis - is the National Bird of Paraguay.
Its natural
habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or
tropical moist montane forests.
Description
A striking white
forest bird. Adult males are a showy shiny white with bare skin around eyes,
throat and lower neck, turquoise with inconspicuous black bristles. The smaller
female is olive above with blackish crown and sides of head. Throat narrowly
streaked white. Pale yellowish underparts coarsely streaked with olive.
Juveniles similar to the female.
Call
A loud and far
carrying series of metallic koínk
calls and a loud prróink,
like that of a hammer striking an anvil or a bell, emitted by the male from a perch,
in order to attract a mate.
Food
A fruit-eating
species. Thought to undertake seasonal migrations in response to peaks in fruit
production.
Conservation Status – Vulnerable
The combination
of increased rates of habitat loss and more intense trapping pressures within
this species range in Paraguay and Brazil mean that its population is likely to
have been undergoing rapid declines It is threatened by habitat loss and by
capture for cage birds.
Birdwatching
Ask Aves Birding Tours/Safaris/Adventures to
create a tour for you to see these showy birds.