Mbaracayú Forest Nature Reserve Turns 10!

2001 marks the 10th anniversary of Paraguay’s Mbaracayú Forest Nature Reserve. Home to jaguars and tapirs and the indigenous Aché Indians, Mbaracayú represents the best remaining example of pristine forest in Eastern Paraguay.

Mbaracayú is part of the Interior Atlantic Forest ecoregion — among the highest priorities for global conservation efforts. In addition to forests, it encompasses rivers, caves, grasslands and wetlands. This range of habitats hosts a number of rare species, including tapirs, peccaries, giant armadillos, great macaws and the endemic bare-throated bellbird.

In 1991, The Nature Conservancy and Paraguayan conservation partner Fundación Moisés Bertoni (FMB) initiated the purchase of nearly 143,000 acres (58,000 hectares) to establish the reserve. In 1996, the Conservancy provided funding to FMB to increase the reserve to some 160,000 acres (64,400 hectares), consolidating the boundaries and protecting the critical upper Je’juí River watershed.

Mbaracayú is heralded as a model for reserve management, scientific research, and innovative, sustainable development. In November 2000, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared Mbaracayú and its surrounding "buffer zone" a Man in the Biosphere Reserve — one of fewer than 400 biosphere reserves worldwide. The Man and the Biosphere Program promotes the improvement of the relationship between people and their environment.

The Mbaracayú forest is a remnant of the traditional hunting grounds of the indigenous Aché tribe, which still depends on the forest for subsistence. The tribe’s continued use of the land is an essential objective of the reserve; the Aché assist in patrolling and are also employed to mark reserve boundaries, guide patrols in locating poachers, and assist visiting researchers and tourists. The Conservancy and FMB are also collaborating with the Aché to create sustainable small businesses that provide income to their communities, such as beekeeping and cultivation of yerba mate.

Fundación Moisés Bertoni is now negotiating the terms for the purchase of an additional tract of land immediately south of the reserve. This new acquisition would protect a largely intact swath of forest — including a unique tract of bamboo forest —from logging and development.

Purchasing this property will not only increase the size of the protected areas but also represent an investment in the future of the Aché’s traditions and culture. With financial assistance from the Conservancy, FMB will purchase the property and subsequently transfer it to the Aché people, subject to a conservation easement. This would be the first conservation easement on a property held by a South American indigenous group.

A 10-year anniversary celebration, slated for Sept. 25-28, 2001 will kick off a campaign to purchase the additional land.

- September 2001