| Alejandro Arambiza |
| WCS-Bolivia |
| Fauna survey and design of Campo Grande indigenous communal protected area |
| Location: Campo Grande, Isoso TCO (indigenous communal land), Bolivia |
| Species: Mammals (ungulates, carnivores, armadillos) |
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| Abstract: The Isoseño-Guaraní people of the Bolivian Chaco are responsible for the administration of the Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park, and are acquiring title to an indigenous territory neighboring Kaa-Iya. The community of Yapiroa has assumed use rights to 16,000 ha within the indigenous territory of Isoso, and has proposed a visionary initiative which combines a 3,500 ha communal wildlife reserve with a sustainable cattle/forest management project. The Scott Neotropical Fund will provide resources to conduct fauna surveys in order to demarcate the communal reserve according to biodiversity conservation values, to train students and community members in wildlife survey and management techniques, and to prepare the technical proposal for the formal declaration of the communal reserve by competent community and government authorities. This unique model would guide the designation of additional communal protected areas within the Isoso TCO, and would demonstrate conservation principles to neighboring ranchers andfarmers. |
Project Update: October 2006 The fauna survey and design of Campo Grande indigenous communal protected area project has begun. This is the driest time of the year. Adolfo Martínez and Luis Miguel Vaca are the two Yapiroa students doing the field surveys. They are conducting line transect surveys along the trails and roads shown, with distances marked by flagging tape. On the roads they are sweeping to monitor tracks, and on the trails they have prepared track plots. Finally, the post was installed and painted during the land titling process, and indicates the Campo Grande reserve boundary. (All photos by Alejandro Arambiza) |
