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The Gran Chaco Americano is the largest dry forest in South America and the continent’s most extensive forested region after Amazonia. It occupies territories in four countries: Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and a small portion of Brazil. In Paraguay, approximately 60% of the territory is covered by the Chaco, yet only 10% of Paraguayans live in this part of the country. However, this small percentage of the population represents a rich cultural diversity, including several indigenous groups. Conserving the biodiversity of the Gran Chaco also means maintaining and ensuring its cultural identity.
A broad climatic spectrum (from tropical to subtropical latitudes) and unique geological and topographical characteristics generate a wide diversity of environments within the Chaco area. The region includes wide plains, swamps, dry or seasonally flooded savannas, marshes, salt flats and a great variety of forests and scrublands. These diverse environments translate into a high diversity of animal and plant species, which make the Chaco a key area for conservation.
Location
The goal of the Conservancy’s work in the Chaco is to create a biological corridor that will connect Defensores del Chaco National Park to three other protected areas nearby: Paraguay's Medanos National Park, the Cerro Cabrera-Timane National Park Reserve and Bolivia's Ka’a Iya National Park. This 330-square-mile corridor will provide a safe haven for a vast array of threatened plant and animal species and represent a total area roughly six times the size of Yosemite National Park in the United States. Recently, UNESCO designated this area as a Man and the Biosphere Reserve, and all national parks within it are categorized as core areas for strict conservation.
Animals
The Chaco is home to approximately 500 bird species, 150 species of mammals, 120 species of reptiles and 100 species of amphibians. It provides a vital habitat for species such as the Chacoan guanaco, jaguar, puma, giant anteater, tapir, greater rhea, and numerous migratory bird species. One unique animal is the night monkey, the only nocturnal monkey in the Americas, which ventures out only after the Chaco's intense heat of day has passed. Also found in this areas are the Chacoan fairy armadillo and the Chacoan peccary, or tagua, which is a prehistoric pig-like species thought to be extinct until rediscovered in 1974.
Plants
The Chaco is home to more than 3,400 plant species. Thorny shrubs and cacti are the predominant vegetation in the area. One shrub, the guaimi pire, forms a short shrub in the dry western area of Paraguay's Chaco, but grows to tree height in the eastern region, where there is more precipitation. In the region, where lack of rain and strong wind are common, only plants adapted to these conditions can survive. One example of this adaptation is the “palo borracho” tree (pictured above), which uses its swollen trunk to retain water to be used during the dry season.
Why the Conservancy Works Here
The Consevancy is working in the region because of the fragility of the Chaco’s natural resources, especially since its biodiversity is currently facing many human pressures. The degradation and continuous loss of natural wealth has been driven by poorly managed use of natural resources due to extensive livestock raising and extractive forestry. More recently, poorly planned agricultural expansion, petroleum and gas exploration, and large-scale infrastructure projects have adversely impacted the Chaco.
What the Conservancy is Doing
• The Conservancy began working with local partner Fundación DeSdel Chaco since 1997 to protect the two-million-acre Defensores del Chaco National Park, which is the largest park in the country. This work continues until today in order to consolidate and improve management of this once “paper park”.
• The Conservancy led a three-year multi-stakeholder effort to guide policy and conservation actions in the Chaco through an ecoregional assessment process, which involved 158 institutions and has resulted in the first-ever publication indicating priority action to direct conservation efforts. This publication, called the Gran Chaco Ecoregional Assessment, is providing guidance for the Conservancy and partners in Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina, to manage areas identified for biodiversity conservation.
• Since 2003, The Conservancy has supported local partners in the process of creating a Gran Chaco Biosphere Reserve. In 2005, UNESCO designated this 18,533,000 acre (7.5 million hectare) area a Man and the Biosphere Reserve. With support from the Conservancy, Fundación DesdelChaco continues its scientific research on the rich biodiversity of the area, focusing on flagship species such as the Chacoan guanaco, jaguar, puma, giant anteater, tapir, and marsh deer.
Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): © Alberto Villalba; © Leandro Baumgarten, , © Leandro Baumgarten
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