A biodiversity Vision for the upper Paraná Atlantic Forest Ecoregion
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- The root causes of environmental degradation
- Total area protected in Paraguay
- Total area protected in Brazil
- Total area protected in Argentina
Unsustainable huntingHunting of most native species is prohibited by law in all three countries, with the exception of a few species for which hunting is allowed and regulated. Indigenous people in all three countries have the legal right to hunt in a traditional manner. However, illegal hunting is widespread across the Upper Paraná ecoregion. Native forests are impoverished as a consequence of a drastic reduction of populations and local extinctions of hunted species (Cullen et al. 2000, 2001), suffering the “empty forest syndrome” (Bennett et al. 2002). It is difficult to control illegal hunting in the three countries, as most government agencies lack the technical and financial resources to enforce the law (for Misiones see Cinto & Bertolini in press), and hunting has deep cultural (and in some cases economic) roots (Giraudo & Abramson 1998). Different sectors of the population conduct different types of hunting. In the three countries, there is a strong cultural tradition of hunting that is practiced during spare time, usually on weekends. Sport hunting is practiced by people living in cities who have financial means. Rural people who live near the forests hunt not only for sport or cultural reasons, but because they may need to obtain meat. The same is true for the lowly paid employees of logging companies who complement their diet with bush-meat they hunt during the weekend in logging areas where they are employed. Rural residents also hunt animals they consider pests, usually because of damage they may cause to domestic animals. For example, jaguars, pumas, and other carnivores are hunted because they may attack livestock (Schiaffino 2000, Pereira Leite Pitman 2002). Snakes are exterminated because a few species represent a danger for humans and domestic animals. There is also some well-organized illegal hunting to supply bush-meat to local markets, such as in Brazil where there are restaurants that offer bush-meat as special dishes. Bush-meat is also used for preparing processed and dried meat. Some indigenous communities still practice subsistence hunting (e.g., the Aché in Paraguay and some Mbya communities in Paraguay and Misiones). However, even traditional hunting practices are currently unsustainable in light of the relatively high human population densities in most areas of the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest, the small size of the forest fragments10, and the low density of game animals found throughout most of the ecoregion11. The root causes of environmental degradationMost of the causes of forest fragmentation and degradation described above are what can be called proximate causes. However the root causes of forest lost and degradation in the ecoregion include:
Most of these root causes can be traced to an inequitable economic system that has concentrated land and resources in the hands of a few and has marginalized a large proportion of the population, depriving them of their most basic needs. While it is not the objective of this Biodiversity Vision to solve the social and economic problems of the ecoregion, we must take them into account when planning a conservation strategy for the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest ecoregion. Opportunities for biodiversity conservation in the Upper Paraná Ecoregion Despite the high degree of fragmentation of the forest in the Upper Paraná ecoregion, there are good opportunities for the conservation of biodiversity. These include a relatively well-implemented system of protected areas (particularly in Argentina and Brazil), an increasing interest in conservation issues by governments and local people, with many new local environmental groups, and a Tri-national Initiative for the Conservation of the Atlantic Forest Corridor. Protected area system. There are 54 strictly protected areas (IUCN categories I-III) in the ecoregion, protecting 565,125 ha of native forest. There are 2,186,375 ha in 20 Sustainable Use Areas (IUCN categories IV-VI) including a large Biosphere Reserve (Figure 9a, 9b; Table 1). These protected areas belong to national (federal), state (provincial), municipal and private protected area systems in the three countries. Many of these areas are small (< 1,000 ha), and many are not well implemented, with land tenure problems, and still lacking management plans. However, the number of protected areas has risen rapidly in recent years (Figure 10) and there is a lot of interest among governments and NGOs in the creation of new protected areas in all three countries. A large block of eleven protected areas, including the Iguaçu National Park in Brazil, the Iguazú National Park in Argentina, the Urugua-í Provincial Park, and eight other smaller private and provincial reserves account for a continuous protected area of 340,800 ha, that serves as a large and resilient reservoir for the biodiversity of the ecoregion. Conservation laws. Despite problems with law enforcement in all three countries, there are indeed laws to protect the forests, particularly the riverine forests and areas with steep slopes. The Brazilian Forest Code also protects the mountaintops and makes mandatory the maintainance as a forest reserve at least 20% of the area of a property. If well protected, these areas could serve as critical corridors connecting forest remnants. Brazilian legislation prohibits the conversion of the last forest remnants of Atlantic Forest. A Brazilian 1990 Presidential decree prohibits cutting of primary or secondary Atlantic Forest. An NGO-led movement is mobilizing national support to transform this decree into permanent law, but they face strong opposition from large-scale agriculture sectors in the Upper Paraná ecoregion. The Green Corridor Law of the Misiones province in Argentina, has created a multiple use conservation area of over one million hectares, with the principle objective of maintaining the connections among the main protected areas of Misiones. This law has eliminated perverse incentives for forest conversion and has created incentives for the protection and restoration of the native forest. All three countries have legislation to protect watersheds. Brazil’s new water law allows for the establishment of river basin commissions and a water users’ tax to support conservation of watersheds. These laws create good opportunities for the conservation of the last forest remnants. Tri-national Initiative. In 1995, a Tri-national Forum of government and non-government organizations of various sectors of the three countries gathered in Hernandarias, Paraguay, in a workshop called “La Conservación de la Selva Paranáense o Bosque Atlántico Interior”. The institutions that participated in this workshop agreed on the necessity to create a Tri-national Corridor to connect the main protected areas in the ecoregion, extending from Mbaracayú Natural Reserve in Paraguay to Turvo State Park in Brazil, through the Green Corridor of Misiones. In successive meetings of the Tri-national Initiative (Curitiba, Brazil in 1997; Eldorado, Misiones in 1999) other important agreements and commitments were made among the participants. This forum is an important opportunity not only for the exchange of experiences and ideas among participants but to advocate for the creation of new protected areas and the implementation of existing ones, as well as to reach consensus on other priority actions. Figure 2. Location of the Atlantic Forests Global 200 Ecoregion in South America 
Figure 3. The 15 Ecoregions of the Atlantic Forests Global 200 Ecoregion Complex 
Figure 4. Forest Remnants of the Atlantic Forests Global 200 Ecoregion 
Figure 5. The Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest Ecoregion 
Figure 6. The Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest Ecoregion Overlaps Extensively with the Upper Paraná Rivers and Streams Global 200 Ecoregion 
Figure 7. The Process of Destruction of the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest 
Modified from Holz & Placci in press. Figure 8. Land Tenure Patterns in Different Parts of the Ecoregion
Figure 9a. Protected Areas of the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest 
Figure 9b. Protected Areas of the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest (Enlarged Tri-national Area) 
Table 1. Protected Areas of the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest Ecoregion
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