The Gran Chaco Pathways Towards a Sustainable Future 2025

3.2 Biodiversity and environmental services The Gran Chaco supports rich biodiversity, high concentrations of wildlife and invaluable environmental services, including water regulation, food provision and carbon sequestration40 (see Box 10). Its diverse climates and landscapes – ranging from grasslands, wetlands, savannas and marshes to salt flats, forests and shrublands – create habitats for over 3,400 plant species, 500 bird species, 150 mammal species and approximately 220 species of reptiles and amphibians – including species critical for biodiversity. However, unsustainable agricultural expansion has been threatening many of these species, some of which are now on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – see Table 4. Key threatened species in the Gran Chaco TABLE 4 Common name Scientific name Type Palo santo Plectrocarpa sarmientoi Hardwood tree Quebracho Colorado Schinopsis balansae Hardwood tree Jaguar Panthera onca Mammal Blue-fronted amazon/parrot Amazona aestiva Bird Giant armadillo Priodontes maximus Mammal Maned wolf Chrysocyon brachyurus Mammal Lowland tapir Tapirus terrestris Mammal Tagua or Pecarí chaqueño Parachoerus wagneri Peccary (pig-like ungulate) Source: Analysis based on Castro Arce et al. (2021).41 The Gran Chaco: Pathways Towards a Sustainable Future 27