PARAGUAY

Paraguay has more than 18 million ha of tropical forest covering over 46% of its land area. 10% of this is primary forest. Despite campaigns by the government in the 1990s to raise awareness of environmental concerns, nearly 1% of Paraguay's forests are disappearing each year. The main reasons for this deforestation are subsistence farming and land clearing for cattle pasture.

Very little of the destruction is due to logging, which is restricted by poor infrastructure, and the countrys potential timber resources remain largely unexploited; the value of industrial round wood harvested in 2005 amounted to only $250 million.

In 2004 the government introduced a 'Zero Deforestation Law', which aimed to cut deforestation rates in the Upper Parana Atlantic Forest without reducing agricultural production. Agriculture, particularly for soybeans, and cattle ranching had severely reduced the forest in some areas. Two years after the law was introduced, deforestation rates had been cut by more than 85%, whilst agricultural production actually increased.

In 2008 the government extended the moratorium on deforestation to the end of 2013, and introduced a parallel policy to cut carbon emissions from land use change to zero by 2020. Other measures introduced include the development of systems to measure and verify how much carbon is stored in different land uses, and mechanisms to integrate payment for environmental services (PES) into the national poverty alleviation strategy.

However, despite the government's positive approach, continuing forest destruction was revealed in high profile news coverage in 2008 of the last remaining uncontacted indigenous community in South America outside the Amazon. The forest in western Paraguay in which the community lives is being destroyed at a faster rate than the Amazon by two Brazilian companies wanting to graze cattle. The land is the subject of a title dispute between the companies and groups acting on behalf of the indigenous people. The situation was described by Survival International as 'the most serious threat to tribal peoples anywhere in the world'. One of the companies recently had its license to work in the area revoked by the government.

DOCUMENTS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
01/12/2006	Arborvitae Issue 32: The IUCN/WWF forest conservation newsletter The focus of this issue of arbor vitae is illegal logging and forest governance. It contains informative ...	IUCN and WWF
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NEWS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
24/03/2012	Vast tracts in Paraguay forest being Replaced by Ranches Filadelfia, Paraguay — The Chaco thorn forest, a domain with 118-degree temperatures so forbidding ...	The New York Times
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03/02/2012	Deforestation threatens Brazil's wetland sanctuary The Pantanal, a stunning biodiversity sanctuary in central-western Brazil, is threatened by intensive ...	Physorg.com
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25/01/2012	El Chaco deforestation worsens Deforested area increased by more than 20 percent in 2011 over the previous year. An area of more ...	LatinAmerican Press
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16/08/2011	Forest fears as Paraguay's Chaco region sees land rush "My car broke down once here, I had to wait three days to be rescued without food or water," ...	BBC News
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24/05/2011	Satellites catch loggers red-handed Oftentimes it seems like our Big Brother-like society -- with its thousands of satellites swerving overhead, ...	Discovery News
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20/05/2011	Satellites spot illegal logging of uncontacted tribes’ home Some of the world’s most sophisticated technology is being used to protect indigenous people who’ve ...	Wired
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11/04/2011	NGO sues to save forest for Paraguay natives Asuncion - An NGO supporting the rights of native Paraguayans said Monday that it filed complaints with ...	AFP
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02/02/2011	The world's 10 most threatened forest hotspots As UN marks 2011 the International Year of Forests, Conservation International highlights forest ecosystems ...	Conservation International
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17/01/2011	Rainfall patterns can't be ignored in climate change debate Rio de Janeiro - In discussions of human activities that affect the climate, there is relatively little ...	IPS News
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15/12/2010	Deforestation sparks giant rodent invasions Capybara are expanding into areas of deforestation throughout South America, reports a new study conducted ...	Mongabay.com
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01/02/2010	Greenwashing for beef land A Brazilian cattle-ranching company has been publicly exposed for illegally bulldozing land belonging ...	Slow Food
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21/01/2010	Greenwash award exposes Brazilian company Brazilian cattle-ranching company named and shamed for destroying the land of an uncontacted tribe. ...	The Ecologist
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20/10/2009	Three South American nations promise to halt deforestation Buenos Aires, Argentina — Three South American nations announced a joint plan Tuesday to establish ...	The Associated Press
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29/05/2009	Group says uncontacted Amazon tribes still at risk of extinction One year after Survival International published photographs of uncontacted Indians in a remote area of ...	Latin American Herald Tribune
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01/04/2009	$18 million approved under UN-REDD Programme Funds will back forestry programmes combating climate change and boosting local livelihoods ...	FAO
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26/03/2009	Brazilian rancher greeted by illegal advert A Brazilian rancher destroying uncontacted Indians land in Paraguay has today arrived in that country ...	Survival International (UK)
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19/11/2008	Last uncontacted tribe in Paraguay rapidly losing homeland ...	Mongabay.com
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13/11/2008	Uncontacted Indians spotted 'fleeing forest destruction' Paraguay - The last uncontacted Indians in South America outside the Amazon basin have been spotted, ...	Survival International (UK)
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20/10/2008	Sat photos show doubling destruction of uncontacted tribes land Satellite photos taken just a few days ago reveal how hundreds of hectares of forest belonging to Paraguay's ...	Survical International (UK)
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10/10/2008	Sat photos reveal uncontacted tribes land being destroyed New satellite photos reveal that the territory of Paraguay's only remaining uncontacted Indians ...	Survival International (UK)
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10/10/2008	Paraguay extends zero deforestation law, aims to cut agricultural emissions Paraguay announced it will implement a policy to cut net carbon emissions from land use change to zero ...	Mongabay.com
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08/10/2008	Indonesia, Papua NG, Vietnam ask UN for assistance to combat deforestation Hanoi - Three of Asias most rapidly deforesting countries - Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam - ...	Green Assembly Asia Environment
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16/02/2008	Latin America: Deforestation still winning Mexico City - Never before have Latin America and the Caribbean fought so hard against deforestation, ...	IPS News Agency
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02/08/2007	Rural activists at risk Paraguay - The politically powerful and traffickers may be behind a series of murders and disappearances ...	Latin America Press (Peru)
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20/12/2006	Paraguay extends deforestation law that has cut forest loss by 85% The government of Paraguay has extended a law has helped deforestation rates in the Upper Parana Atlantic ...	Mongabay.com
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27/07/2006	Paraguay: Indians denounce illegal logging Paraguay - A group of Ayoreo Indians has angrily condemned the landowners who are logging their territory ...	Survival International
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