Paraguay meets UN deadline for improving governance in Chaco Biosphere Reserve
Paraguay has provided updated information to the United Nations about the Chaco Biosphere Reserve, a protected area where deforestation from farming and cattle ranching threatens the survival of Indigenous communities. The country had until the end of September to respond to a UNESCO request to provide updated management plans and zoning, which critics say are […]
Paraguay submitted updated information to the United Nations regarding the Chaco Biosphere Reserve, a protected area facing threats from deforestation caused by farming and cattle ranching. The deadline for providing updated management plans and zoning was at the end of September. While there were no automatic consequences for missing the deadline, UNESCO officials are keeping a watchful eye on the site to prevent it from losing its designation.
The biosphere reserve spans around 7.5 million hectares of the Gran Chaco, a vast tropical dry forest, with many hectares having been deforested for agriculture and livestock over the past two decades. The Indigenous Ayoreo, who live in voluntary isolation and form the last uncontacted Indigenous group in South America outside the Amazon Rainforest, are particularly vulnerable to diseases brought by outside encroachment.
The area was designated as a biosphere reserve in 2001, expanded in 2011 due to Indigenous presence, and recognized by UNESCO in 2005 as part of its Man and the Biosphere Programme.
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