Importance

One of the last great wilderness under threat

Designated as a National Park in 1975, this vast area protects the heart of the Grand Chaco. It contains vegetation and wildlife typical of the larger area, and importantly is at the scale to enable protection of viable populations of numerous important plant and animal species. The vegetation is adapted to the dry climate, with mainly low forests and scrub-like bushes, including many species of cactus and the Quebracho, or ‘Drunken Tree’, which stores water in its bulbous trunk.

At the centre of the National Park lies Cerro Leon, a unique formation of hills covering over 40km and including Paraguay's second highest peak at around 600m high. This site is of particular importance to the local indigenous people and of key interest for tourists.

Indigenous Ayoreo people live inside and use the National Park, including those who live a traditional lifestyle in voluntary isolation from the outside world. For the Ayoreo people the protection of Defensores del Chaco National Park is critical for them to continue their way of life.

Some of the features of the park may be mentioned the following:

• It is the largest in area and in pristine condition (89%) of the so-called Dry Chaco ecoregion in Paraguay area.
• A platform site for Chaco Biosphere Reserve, given its condition, size and connectivity.
• From the biological point of view, the fauna and flora communities are a natural laboratory to study the dispersion, interrelation, especially communities of large mammals.
• 535 species of vascular plants (7.6% of the country and 21% of the western region or Chaco Paraguay) are recorded.
• 60 species of economic importance in popular use are recorded.
• 426 vertebrate species are recorded.
• Retains largely Timane River Basin, which moves from northeast to southwest (SEAM 2001).
• The park has one of the best instances of poorly drained forests with palm Tritrinax esquisofilax, endemism of Prosopis rojasiana appears (serious distribution center