San Rafael, located in the southeast of Paraguay, represents the largest continuous block of the remnants of the South American Interior Atlantic Forest (BAAPA according to its initials in Spanish) in the country.
Its more than 70,000 hectares contain forests and natural fields protecting important hydrological watersheds, as well as one of the Paraguay’s tallest and most important range of hills. San Rafael has been widely recognized as a high priority conservation area for the country, as well as a key element in the Vision of Biodiversity of the South American Interior Atlantic Forest, a document shared with Brazil and Argentina.
In 1997, San Rafael National Park was declared the first Important Bird Area (IBA) in Paraguay (Decree # 5577). This area maintains populations of 13 globally threatened bird species and 17 other near-threatened species, and is the site with the largest number of Atlantic Forest endemic species in Paraguay. San Rafael is one of the 75 most important sites for threatened and endemic Atlantic Forest species.
This site also contains extremely important diversity within other taxa, such as mammals and reptiles. A highlight was the recent discovery of a new-to-science reptile species.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has identified San Rafael as a “Hot Spot” for conservation and is one of the most important areas of the BAAPA.