DLR Portal
Home|Imprint|Sitemap|Contact Imprint Privacy |Deutsch
You are here: Home:News / Archive
Advanced Search
Earth Observation Center
DFD
IMF
Services
Technology
Applications and Projects
Satellite Data
Media Library
News / Archive
Archive 2020
Archive 2019
Archive 2018
Archive 2017
Archive 2016
Archive 2015
Archive 2014
Archive 2013
Archive 2012
Archive 2011
Archive 2010
Archive 2009
Archive 2008
Archive 2007
Archive 2006
Archive 2005
Archive 2004
Archive 2003
Archive 2002
Archive 2001
Blogs & Features
Print

Atlas of the Paraguayan Chaco

17 December 2020

The Chaco is a South American landscape characterized by dry forests and thorn-bush savannas. It takes up over 60% of Paraguay’s total area and provides a habitat for species such as the lowland tapir and the jaguar. However, extensive disruption to the natural ecosystem seriously endangers its biodiversity. In a project financed by the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety, collaboration between EOC and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has produced an Atlas of the Paraguayan Chaco.

The Paraguayan Chaco

The rapid upsurge in cattle breeding in this region has high economic relevance for this South American country. Increasing international demand for meat leads to a continuous expansion of pasturage in the Chaco, which is accompanied by woodland clearance. Between 1987 and 2012 over 27% of the natural forest cover was lost in the Paraguayan Chaco. In most cases the remaining forested areas exist only as isolated islands in what is otherwise an agricultural landscape. This extensive encroachment on the natural ecosystem of the Chaco has led to a drastic and continuous decline in biodiversity.

The Atlas of the Paraguayan Chaco contains extensive maps supplying qualitative and quantitative information on the condition of the Paraguayan Chaco region and the changes it is undergoing. The Atlas describes the importance, complexity of Chaco ecosystems and sharpens awareness of the region’s fragility. The maps serve local decision makers and government authorities as a foundation for discussing further measures to protect the Chaco and can be used as illustrative material for educational programmes. All the maps, statistics, spatial analyses and numerous texts were produced at EOC in cooperation with WWF Paraguay. The Atlas contains 29 thematic maps based on remote sensing data, surveys from other research fields, and national data sets. It has two sections: (1) the overall characteristics of the Chaco and (2) detailed presentations of the condition of and changes to vegetation and land use in the ecoregions.

The Atlas can be obtained free of charge in digital or print form. Over 300 copies are being distributed to Paraguay’s most important governmental and private bodies as well as to research and university-level educational institutions.

 


Contact
Dr. Emmanuel Da Ponte Canova
German Aerospace Center (DLR)

German Remote Sensing Data Center
, Land Surface
Weßling

Tel.: +49 8153 28-1747

Fax: +49 8153 28-1458

Downloads
DLR-WWF - ATLAS OT THE PARAGUAYAN CHACO (21.53 MB)
Copyright © 2021 German Aerospace Center (DLR). All rights reserved.