Forest cover loss in Paraguay and perception of ecosystem services: A case study of the Upper Parana Forest

摘要

The Upper Parana Atlantic Forest (BAAPA) in Paraguay is one of the most threatened tropical forests in theudworld. Relentless agricultural encroachment has left less than 10% of its original cover intact. Manyudstrategies and programs have been initiated, such as Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes,udto halt forest cover loss. While the approach of ecosystem services (ES) has been continuously appliedudby policy makers, it has not been perceived strongly by the direct users of the forest. This study providesuda comprehensive understanding on how landowners in the BAAPA perceive and benefits from ES derivedudfrom the forest and examines the influence of farmers on forest conservation. The results were obtainedudfrom an extensive household survey performed in the BAAPA region. An understanding of the high ecologicaludvalue of the forest is common to all farmers. A strong dependency on forest-related products wasudobserved for small and medium landowners whereas large-scale farmers considered the forest’s mainudvalue to be mostly recreational and cultural. PES appears to be well accepted by forest owners, but it mustudreceive stronger promotion. Understanding the importance of ecosystem services is a valuable contributionudtoward to conserving natural resources.