On the 20th of November, 1997, a group of people met in Asunción, Paraguay. The group was worried about the rapid disappearance of the different natural habitats of Paraguay, and by the threats that this posed to birds and biodiversity. Understanding that birds are excellent indicators of biodiversity, that it is the duty of every person and every sector of society to preserve representative samples of avian and other biological groups’ biodiversity and to avoid the extinction of threatened avian species, they unanimously resolved to create a non-profit, non-governmental organization for the common good, with the objective of implementing programmes and projects that would promote the protection and conservation of birds that inhabit or travel through the Paraguayan territory. They also resolved to encourage educational activities and to raise awareness about the importance of the conservation of birds and their habitats, and biodiversity in general. The initial objective for the association was to work for the conservation of birds and their habitats through public knowledge, awareness, and action. The association was named GUYRA PARAGUAY: Conservación de Aves. In the same meeting, it was decided to designate those who would occupy the positions of Executive Director, Board of Directors, and Auditor, having been filled as follows: Executive Director: Mr. Alberto Madroño; Board of Directors: 1) Mr. Juan Carlos Blanco, two years; 2) Mrs. Diane Espinoza, one year; 3) Mr. Francis Fragano, three years; 4) Mr. Diego Moreno, two years; 5) Ms. Selene Rojas, two years; 6) Mr. Alberto Yanosky, one year; Substitute Board Member: Mrs. Aída Luz Aquino; Auditor: Mr. Francis Fragano. Those mentioned above were also designated as the Founding Members. Alberto Madroño, Juan Carlos Blanco and Francis Fragano were also authorized to formalize the Charter, signing the Document of Public Record, as well as other required documents, in order to complete all steps and formalities to legally establish Guyra Paraguay.
In its first year of existence (1998) there were almost no resources, with approximately US$ 5,000 invested, but, with the support of the RSPB, a strategic plan was developed. For six months, the Fundación Moisés Bertoni paid the salary of Alberto Madroño, who had left the Fundación in order to undertake the enormous challenge of launching Guyra Paraguay. Alberto Madroño was the head of Guyra Paraguay for one and a half years, after which one of the board members, Francis Fragano, was invited to take over the executive directorship. At this time, with the support of the Fundación Moisés Bertoni, the idea of consolidating funding from other organizations began to take root. Francis Fragano held his position for approximately one year and since 2001 Doctor Alberto Yanosky has acted as the Executive Director. Subsequently, Doctor Claudio Prieto, Alfredo Goli Stroessner, Alejandro González, Marie de Bernard, and Doctor Blanca Masulli, amongst others, have joined the Board of Directors. As such, with few resources, and the logistical and financial support coming from only a few people with goodwill and good intentions, today we have GUYRA PARAGUAY: CONSERVACIÓN DE AVES.