MY PARAGUAY

I began my search identifying my areas of interest and knowledge – amongst which environmental issues and nature conservation had always been high on my list. The close link between international conflict and conservation of natural resources had been a topic I had researched in the past. I knew of various organizations dedicated to the protection of the environment, and WWF had always been one of the ones I had a lot of admiration for – as they were also a forum of peace. After quite a bit of research on their site and organization, I came across the opportunity for the YVP and immediately applied. Two months later, after various interviews and selections, I was offered the opportunity to go to Paraguay. And so my journey began – in February 2012 I was off to South America!

Apart from that, I had a terrific time tasting local food, discovering its romantic music traditions, the natural beauty of the environment as well as also learning a lot about the troubled history of the Paraguayan people, who after many years of dictatorship still struggle to stabilize socially and economically. All in all, it has been a tremendous life experience which I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of and feel very lucky to be able to live.

In Paraguay, WWF currently has two main objectives:

• To advocate for the extension of the Zero deforestation Law in Oriental Region of Paraguay. The core is to protect the Atlantic forest through an effective set of legislations. Also, this implies the promotion of sustainable forest management and valid economic alternatives.
   
• To foster a more sustainable use and therefore to protect forest for the benefit of climate, people and nature. The mission is to find a balance between human activities and the use of the forest by implementing a REDD+ program, with the focus on two globally important eco-regions: the Atlantic Forest and the Pantanal.

These challenges set out by WWF in Paraguay require a great deal of patience, intelligence, teamwork and passion in achieving them. The implementation of these goals has allowed me to take part in a range of activities: contributing to a committed office environment, fieldtrips to the forest for workshops with producers and landowners, providing technical support and logistics in the early stages of reforestation efforts, supporting local municipalities, national and forestry authorities in applying forestry laws, meetings about environmental education and the dangers of deforestation as well as lacks of water resources in schools and indigenous communities, the construction of a social conscience on the issue through media networks to educate civil society. These are only but a few of the activities WWF Paraguay has allowed me to discover and assist with.