Lying in the small, land-locked South American country of Paraguay, San Rafael is a site wreathed in environmental accolades, glittering with conservation aspirations yet undermined by uncertainties.

San Rafael contains two of the continent’s most threatened ecosystems: Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest and Mesopotamian grasslands. San Rafael protects Paraguay’s largest remnants of the former habitat, and was designated Paraguay’s first Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA). It has long been considered the country’s highest priority for biodiversity conservation, consequently receiving concerted attention from Guyra Paraguay (BirdLife Paraguay) and other conservation organisations.

The site harbours 13 Globally Threatened Birds and 18 classified as Near Threatened. More bird species have been found at San Rafael than anywhere in Paraguay; roughly 430, c.60% of the country’s total. The avifauna is complemented by 61 mammal species, 35 amphibians, 52 fish, and 47 reptiles. And those numbers are rising: three reptiles new to science were discovered in San Rafael’s grasslands during 2006.

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