 N J Collar/BirdLife
Flat lowland forest covers a tiny fraction of its original extent in South America's Atlantic Forest
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New publication for Paraguay's Atlantic Forest
08-08-2006
The Atlantic Forest of south-east Brazil, north-east Argentina and eastern Paraguay is one of the most threatened, yet biologically diverse ecosystems in the world. Once covering approximately 1.7 million km2, it has been almost totally devastated, and only 7.4% now remains, mostly as scattered fragments.
In Paraguay, the Atlantic Forest originally covered 80,000 km2 but this has now been reduced to 11,000 km2. On July 19, the Paraguayan Vice President, Luis Castiglioni, and the Taiwanese Representative in Paraguay launched Guyra Paraguay’s latest publication, The Atlantic Forest of Paraguay: Status, threats and perspectives.
According to José Luis Cartes, Coordinator of Guyra Paraguay's (BirdLife in Paraguay's) Site Conservation Program, this book presents valuable information that will support the development of conservation policies, in addition to offering general information regarding the situation of the Atlantic Forest in Paraguay.
The publication was supported by the Forest Bureau, CoA, Taiwan, who recently approved a donation of US$15,000 to conserve and monitor key sites for birds and biodiversity in the Paraguayan Atlantic Forest and to promote the general conservation of Important Bird Areas (IBAs), and in particular of the highest priority site, San Rafael. Publication of the book was also made possible through support from CEPF and Conservation International.