Refugio Mbaracayú
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The Mbaracayú (Maracaju) Biological Sanctuary is a binational reserve, located on the border between
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
and
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. It is one of the sites earmarked as ecological reserve by Itaipu Binacional, which operates the
Itaipu Dam The Itaipu Dam ( pt, Barragem de Itaipu , es, Represa de Itaipú ) is a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The construction of the dam was first contested by Argentina, but the negotiations ...
. Itaipu is the largest dam in production in the world, located between Paraguay and Brazil. It was founded in 1984 and is located at 300 km north of the city of Hernandarias. It has 1,356 ha. The refuge is managed by these two countries.Portal H2FOZ
/ref> The creation of the sanctuary was a solution to the old problem of boundaries between Brazil and Paraguay. Itaipu Binacional created a strip of environmental protection at the border between the cities of Mundo Novo (Brazil) and
Salto del Guairá Salto del Guairá () is a city in Paraguay. It is the capital of the department of Canindeyú. The city is located about 200 km north of Ciudad del Este. It borders the Brazilian municipality of Guairá, across the Paraná River which m ...
(Paraguay). Before the creation of the Refuge, the area was devoid of vegetation; in less than ten years of intensive work of environmental recovery, the area has been completely reforested. This is one of the geographic areas in which Brazilians and Paraguayans have been able to resolve territorial conflicts.


Geography

The sanctuary comprises a series of low hills with numerous springs and streams in their valleys, plus low-lying areas with wetlands and estuaries toward the river Parana. Natural environmental conditions have been significantly altered. At other times were covered with high forests that were felled for land use in livestock production, therefore 85% of its area is now pasture. The remaining 15% is wetlands, small isolated areas of remnant forests, riparian forests or in galleries and “tacuarales”. The soil is classified mostly as latosoles and latosol sandy, and the sandy texture is easily eroded. In some places the texture is predominately arene - clay. In low-lying areas there are hydromorphic soils.


Animals and Plants

Ecosystems in the Refuge create the ideal conditions for animal life, among which are: monkey (''
Cebus apella The tufted capuchin (''Sapajus apella''), also known as brown capuchin, black-capped capuchin, or pin monkey is a New World primate from South America and the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. As traditionally defined, it is one of t ...
''), kuatí (''
Nasua nasua The South American coati (''Nasua nasua''), also known as the ring-tailed coati, is a coati species and a member of the raccoon family (Procyonidae), found in the tropical and subtropical parts of South America. An adult generally weighs from a ...
''), fox (''
Crab-eating fox The crab-eating fox (''Cerdocyon thous''), also known as the forest fox, wood fox, bushdog (not to be confused with the bush dog) or maikong, is an extant species of medium-sized canid endemic to the central part of South America since at lea ...
''), on wetlands are: capybara (''
Hydrochaeris The capybaraAlso called capivara (in Brazil), capiguara (in Bolivia), chigüire, chigüiro, or fercho (in Colombia and Venezuela), carpincho (in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and ronsoco (in Peru). or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydro ...
''), wolf water (''
Lutra ''Lutra'' is a genus of otters, one of seven in the subfamily Lutrinae. Taxonomy and evolution The genus includes these species: Extant species Extinct species *†'' Lutra affinis'' *†'' Lutra bressana '' *†'' Lutra bravardi'' *†' ...
'') and mentioned in special form of swamp deer to (''
Blastocerus dichotomus The marsh deer (''Blastocerus dichotomus'') is the largest deer species from South America reaching a length of and a shoulder height of . It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. Formerly found in much of tropical ...
''), animal in serious danger of extinction, this deer appears frequently in the area, especially on the banks of streams, in almost all notándose opportunities their presence as a couple. The area is grassland habitat suitable for different species of birds, cats and even small rodents that can be seen frequently. This area is where they originate large fires at certain times of year. The pasture mentioned refers to''
Panicum maximum ''Megathyrsus maximus'', known as Guinea grass and green panic grass, is a large perennial bunch grass that is native to Africa and Yemen. It has been introduced in the tropics around the world. It has previously been called ''Urochloa maxim ...
'' by 90%. In this Refuge are identified over 250 species of birds, highlighting three new records for Paraguay: ''
Anhima cornuta The horned screamer (''Anhima cornuta'') is a member of a small family of birds, the Anhimidae, which occurs in wetlands of tropical South America. There are three screamer species, the other two being the southern screamer and the northern scre ...
'', '' Picummus albosquammatus ''and''
Schistochlamys melanopis The black-faced tanager (''Schistochlamys melanopis'') is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habita ...
''. In areas with much humidity plant species are observed as:'' Eichornia azurea
Equisetum giganteum ''Equisetum giganteum'', with the common name southern giant horsetail, is a species of horsetail native to South America and Central America, from central Chile east to Brazil and north to southern Mexico. Description It is one of the larg ...
Nephelea setosa ''Cyathea'' is a genus of tree ferns, the type genus of the fern order Cyatheales. The genus name ''Cyathea'' is derived from the Greek ''kyatheion'', meaning "little cup", and refers to the cup-shaped sori on the underside of the fronds. ...
'', among others.


Itaipu Lake

This refuge is bordering Lake artificially created to enter into operation the plant of Itaipu. Being formed in 1982, a series of economic alternatives that are already beginning to be exploited by the 77 neighboring municipalities. The artificial lake is one of the largest in the world, with 29 million m³ and 200 km extension in a straight line. Considering the bays, inlets and length reaches 1,400 km. The formation of the lake has not only changed the look of the geographic region. The agriculture, regional economic base, begins to cede place to tourism. Several artificial beaches were created along the banks of the lake, where he practiced all sorts of water sports. En los esterales se observan especies vegetales como: '' Eichornia azurea,
Equisetum giganteum ''Equisetum giganteum'', with the common name southern giant horsetail, is a species of horsetail native to South America and Central America, from central Chile east to Brazil and north to southern Mexico. Description It is one of the larg ...
,
Nephelea setosa ''Cyathea'' is a genus of tree ferns, the type genus of the fern order Cyatheales. The genus name ''Cyathea'' is derived from the Greek ''kyatheion'', meaning "little cup", and refers to the cup-shaped sori on the underside of the fronds. ...
'', entre otras.


Area subdivision

According to latest techniques of management of protected areas, this refuge is divided into distinct zones in order to handle them properly. Areas of special use: areas include reduced in size and which are essential for the administration, office accommodation, restaurant, aviation runway, and so on. Zone extensive use: areas to which visitors access for education and recreation (and self-guided interpretive trails, paths "cross country", etc.. Zones intensive: consist of areas with outstanding scenery and that lend themselves to relatively dense recreational activities (camping areas, visitors' centers and scenic lookouts) Buffer Zones and Recovery: areas that have been severely damaged and it is mostly to areas adjacent to the surrounding populations. Zone Core: natural areas that have received the minimum of disruption caused by man (with three distinct nuclei and characteristic of the place). The reserve has a panoramic viewpoint, which can be seen most of the wooded area, as well as the vast body of water formed by the dam. The combined resources of vegetation, topography and water give it a priceless


References

* Che Retá Paraguay


External links


Itaipu Binacional - Spanish

Itaipu Binacional - Portuguese
{{DEFAULTSORT:Refugio Mbaracayu Tourism in Paraguay Biosphere reserves of Paraguay Ecological reserves of Brazil Protected areas established in 1984