The program’s focus is located in the buffer zone of the MFNR, with more than 290,000 hectares of land, composed primarily of agricultural and cattle-raising properties, with more than 1,000 hectares and farm-working and indigenous communities.
It points towards establishing a land use matrix that respects watercourses, especially the nascent and the remaining native forest for the conservation of fauna and flora.
The objective is to create connectivity corridors that give continuity to the ecological processes of the MFNR’s nucleus zone.
Private owners hold the majority of the land surface corresponding to the Biosphere Reserve.
With the purpose of assuring the conservation of these forests, a strategy was designed to consolidate private conservation initiatives. Various property owners have initiated the process, designating a portion of their land to conservation areas.
Since 2003 –though a GEF Fund (World Bank) administrated by the MBF–, the Program of Private Initiatives for Conservation acts, oriented on the mission to work with important local land owners, whose lands are located in the Mbaracayu Forest Biosphere Reserve (MFBR).
Connectivity strategies where developed based on the vision of Biodiversity proposed by WWF. They look to interconnect forest remnants of the MFNR’s nucleus zone. Two remnants, with more than 5,000 hectares, where identified, one of them belong to the indigenous community Chupa Pou, located in the West sector of the Biosphere Reserve, and the other one located in the South of the Natural Reserve Morombi, outside the limits of the Biosphere Reserve.
The connectivity strategy contemplates the following components:
1. Biological Corridors: areas associated to water courses were identified. The idea is to protect vegetation of the surroundings of those water courses, through identification and awareness of its importance with local land owners, in order to gather connectivity in between forest remnants and act in favor of fauna circulation.
The emphasis in establishing biological corridors instead of sustaining isolated reserves is because those ecosystems share common characteristics; that’s why fauna circulation between different forest fragments is highly possible (even more when this interconnection is done through water courses).
Corridors will also allow continuity of functional ecological links between different forest portions of the Region.
The main work in these areas is the enrichment of forest remnants by establishing agro-forestall systems, and reforestation with species of multiple uses. These actions are developed by the Rural Development Management, through programs oriented on improving the life quality of local communities.
These Biological Corridors actually protect more than 20,000 hectares of riverside forests.
2. Natural Private Reserves:Witch are planned to be part of the national System of Protected Natural National Areas in Paraguay. In these Private Reserves we develop Handling Programs to ensure the protection of natural resources, with a global vision established by the limits of the MFNR and associated remnants.Private Conservation units develop commitments with the private sector in regard of the responsible use of natural resources, for that purpose, these owners restrict the use of part of their lands in flavor of common wellbeing. According to the characteristics of these properties, their biological richness and owners’ disposition; two types of private reserve have been designed: Environmental services: Established in the “Rama III” farm, through a private conservation contract signed between the owners and the MBF, and subscripted in the Public Register of Properties. This service is located in the limit of MFBR’s nucleus zone and the beginning of the green Corridors. Private Natural Reserves: Are to be declared part of the National System of Natural Protected Areas (SINASIP) of Paraguay.
3. Restoring forest landscape:
Almost 67 % of the surface of the MFNR belongs to private owners, with more than 100 hectares each, considering this fact the foundation have established as a strategically priority for them to get acknowledge of the importance of preservation. The recognition of the importance of connectivity between forest remains located in these properties and the core area of the MFBR is a priority in this process, in order to avoid the “island” effect.
More than 150 hectares are being reforested with native species in this model of shared responsibility. More than 4,600 hectares are already submitted to this conservation model in two private reserves located beside the MFBR’s core zone, in order to create forest remain corridors in one of the Aché’s communities, and it has been established another form of environmental service on almost 600 hectares, also located beside the MFBR’s nucleus zone.
Several shared responsibility reforestation and recuperation of endangered natural areas agreements in important connectivity zones of the MFNR have been signed between the foundation and private owners.
An important international activity to mention is the participation of the MBF in the “Seminar of Recovering Forest Degraded Landscape” (2005) which took place in Cordoba, Argentina. The seminar was organized by the UICN. In this opportunity the MBF’s experience, named: “Reforestation with shared responsibility and recovering of degraded areas in the MFNR (Paraguay)”, was selected to be exhibited to the participants.
