AID grant no. LAC-0784-G-00-0048-00 to The Nature Conservancy to assist in establishing Mbaracayu in eastern Paraguay as a managed nature reserve

Working with Fundacion Moises Bertoni, a local NGO, and with the Paraguayan Park Directorate, TNC will develop a management plan for the Reserve, which will include (1) a program for economic development of the neighboring local communities based on sustainable use of natural resources in the Reserve area, and protection of the Upper Jejui watershed, where the Reserve is located; and (2) a design for a public awareness campaign to enlist the support of local landowners and residents for conservation of the watershed. The management program will provide training to the Ache people, a tribe of hunters and gatherers, to patrol and act as game wardens for the reserve and to guide and support researchers and ecotourists. It will also support employment of women in local processing industries. The $500,000 A.I.D. grant, which may be used in a debt for nature swap, will finance 18% of the total program cost. TNC will conduct an international campaign to raise the remaining funds (including funds to establish a management trust fund for the Reserve).