General

The Gran Chaco Americano is a vast, relatively flat, wooded region occupying south-eastern Bolivia, western ..Paraguay and northern Argentina. In Paraguay, it covers the lands west of the Paraguay River and is characterized ..by tropical savannas, dense thorn-scrub forest and more open vegetation in areas with sand dunes. Due to increased ..deforestation rates in the past decade, the Paraguayan Chaco is undergoing a rapid change, with the remaining ..forest patches being so small that they are essentially islands in an entirely man-made landscape. Lack of a regional ..vision regarding land use management and land protection is one of the main problems to get to a sustainable ..balance of the use of the Chaco. Many Neotropical Migrants depend on the Paraguayan Chaco during migration and ..overwintering including 14 species of Neotropical Migratory Landbirds that depend on the forests in the Chaco and ..of which several are in steep decline. Rapid action is required as a recent analysis of economic drivers indicated a ..realistic possibility that all suitable land will have been transformed for cattle production by 2025. Guyra Paraguay ..will advance long-term conservation of Neotropical Migratory Landbirds in the Paraguayan Chaco through targeted ..habitat management and protection, support for more effective land-use planning, and public outreach. To achieve ..this, Guyra Paraguay aims to: 1) improve management and effective protection of Neotropical Migratory landbird ..habitat in six protected areas in the Paraguayan Chaco; 2) assess and evaluate the impact of land use change in ..the Paraguayan Chaco on Neotropical migratory landbird species through, monitoring, data compilation and ..analysis; 3) stimulate sustainable land use and strategic land planning by working with local stakeholders ..(authorities, ranchers, land owners) and, 4) raise awareness and built support for the conservation of the ..Paraguayan Chaco and its migratory species.

General

Asociacin No Gubernamental Rural Amaznica Andina Choba Choba (Choba-Choba), $200,000 over three years; counterpart committed, $129,930 Choba-Choba will help communities living in the buffer zone of the Cordillera Azul national park to recover and reestablish traditional land management and agricultural production practices, promote agricultural biodiversity, and carry out natural resource conservation and sustainable economic development activities. The project will benefit 3,680 community

General

Centro Especializado de Atencin a la Mujer (CEAMUJER) will provide leadership training investment capital technical assistance and legal services in 20 rural communities in the department of Matagalpa to increase the resident's income generating capacity promote land titling encourage gender equality and reduce domestic violence. The project will reach approximately 1200 men and women directly and another 4800 indirectly.

General

Associao dos Remanescentes do Quilombo de Pombal (ARQP) will work with 160 Afro-Brazilian farmers resettled through Brazil's program of land reform in So Tiago in the municipality of Santa Rita do Novo Destino, state of Gois, to develop the association's fund for equipment to improve production, and to launch a cooperative that buys the community's produce to sell in volume.

General

In Central America and Mexico, communities that live in tropical forests strive to manage these forests sustainably and protect their land rights while facing constant pressure from destructive practices such as illegal logging. At the IAF, we support community-led approaches to expanding economic opportunities and improving natural resource management. Our grantee partner, Asociacin de Comunidades Forestales de Petn (ACOFOP), together with the Alianza Mesoamericana de Pueblos y Bosques (AMPB) is promoting inclusive and sustainable economic development in forest communities by strengthening a network of young leaders from Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Honduras. ACOFOP and AMPB are training these emerging leaders in project development and management, providing seed funding for their community initiatives, and honing their communication skills to raise awareness of the importance of community forestry in their countries.This grant is part of the IAF's efforts to address the root causes of irregular migration in Central America.