Introduction - The Fundacion's Story
Of Bats and Ectoparasites
Learning to Preserve

"It was the biggest honor of my life to sign the document," says board member Gustafson, who signed the international agreement on behalf of FMB.

ECOLOGICAL WESTERNS

FMB realized that the reserve could not survive without an aggressive management program. Illegal hunting and wood harvesting was rampant throughout the property. Squatters had also illegally established farms in Mbaracayu. Fund raising efforts allowed FMB to eventually hire 10 park guards and construct five park guard stations on the park's perimeter. The organization chose the guards carefully, preferring to hire locals who had experience with nature and who could serve as examples to the community.

"When the reserve started, we would find 30 hunters a day, now we suspect that only two or three enter a day," he added.

Ramirez says that the guards thoroughly patrol the sizeable property on foot twice a month, spending nights in the woods. When they find an illegal hunter, they first explain what the reserve is for and explain that it is illegal to kill or injure an animal. "Sometimes we find good people, sometimes not." Ramirez says that park guards will detain uncooperative trespassers until the police come.

On a recent weekend, FMB executive director Raul Gauto, standing at the foot of a grassy airstrip, trains his binoculars on the horizon. The airstrip, located in the preserve's heart, is where guests who do not have time to endure the 16-hour round-trip journey land.

"Do you hear that hum"" says the U.S.-educated Gauto, in a near perfect American accent. "That's an airplane," he says confidently.

Within minutes, a Cessna turbo prop plane plops down effortlessly onto the runway. Among the guests is FMB's lawyer who has come from the organization's headquarters in Asuncion to assist Gauto with a hunter who was found illegally hunting on the property. Careening down the runway's other axis is a police jeep. Inside is the hunter who has been detained in a local jail for a week. For strategic reasons, Gauto has decided not to press charges but to release the prisoner to his native village of Guyra Keha, a colony that was formed just three years ago on the preserve's southeastern boundary. The lawyer jumps into Gauto's waiting pickup and the caravan takes off for the village. Through a seemingly impassable road that traverses the reserve, the caravan eventually arrives in Guyra Keha an hour later. One is reminded of a spaghetti western as Gauto, with a judge at his side, releases the prisoner in a dusty plaza in front of the entire town, warning the community that the next illegal hunter caught will not be as fortunate.

SUSTAINABLE TRADITIONS

FMB works hard to maintain good relations with neighboring communities. Since the beginning, the foundation has emphasized sustainable economic development, that is, working with neighboring communities to ensure that their economic activities would not harm the local environment while not hurting jobs. Without such cooperation, FMB believes it can not ensure the reserve's long-term survival. "For every dollar invested in the reserve, one dollar goes to help the social and economic development of those who live around the reserve," says Gauto. As early as 1988, for example, FMB helped local farmers establish committees, meeting once a month to discuss sustainable farming ideas.

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