Global Conference on the Gran Chaco

The Chaco is the second largest forested area in South America and is characterized for its high biological diversity and culture. The total surface of the Chaco is about 1 million km2 covering Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia en Brazil. The region integrates three climatic zones with annual participation from 1300mm in the East until 350mm in the West. The major rivers in the region are Rio Paraguay, Rio Pilcomayo, Rio Bermejo. Cities in the region are Villa Montes (Bolivia), Filadelfia (Paraguay), Formosa, Santiago del Estero (Argentina). This ecoregion is a marginal and poor zone of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. One of the major threats for the sustainability of the region is a high level of deforestation due to the fast agricultural expansion for meat, soy and milk products. With about million hectares annually deforested there is a serious need for more attention to this region. For improved global attention the visibility of the Gran Chaco needs to be increased. There is a strong relation to global climate change to which this the deforestation in the Chaco contributes. But also the vulnerability of the area to increased droughts is a currently a pressing issue. The project proposes to a organize a three day conference on the 28, 29 and 30th of September for all the different actors to exchange and articulate visions, plans, programs and guidelines for an integrated development between countries. This needs to contribute to the visibility of the American Chaco Ecoregion at international level and increased decision making about local and cross boundary activities. The idea is that the Encuentro Mundial del Chaco (EMCH) allows for the integration and diffusion of different visions in the region with the idea to create and strengthen cross boundary links and alliances. Themes that will be discussed in an integrated manner are deforestation, use of water, synergy of projects, visibility of the Chaco, climate change, health in the Chaco, indigenous peoples, sustainable production of larger companies. 1) The first objective is to improve and update the knowledge on cultural aspects, environmental issues and the use of natural resource in the region. This will be done by contacting several institutions related to science, investigation rural fieldwork and governments. These institutions will be asked to form working groups and present their work and the conference. Afterwards the main works and summaries will be included in a publication. 2) The second objective is to position the Chaco region as a biome of international importance. The project intends to reach this objective by contacting several large media such as tv and new papers. In order to reach this media attention a media strategy will be designed. 3) The third objective is the identification of strategies and potential activities to promote an integrated development. The project intends to reach this objective through the influence of several sectors with activities and influence in the Chaco. The current groups proposed are environment and natural resources, Global positioning of the Grand Chaco, Indigenous Peoples of the Grand Chaco, Small scale farmer families, and sustainable production at company level (new economy). In total the project aims at a participation of at least 800 people. Different sectors will debate and elaborate documents on each theme. 4) The fourth objective is to present at state level the proposal of activities of which consensus was reached. The officials of the three countries will receive the proposals of each debate mentioned at objective three. 5)The fifth objective is to stimulate political agreements of the Chaco governments to give a serious impulse to integrated development. This objective has to do with following-up with the governments on the agendas proposed during the meeting.