South America’s Ayoreo people

For the Geo Quiz, we’re heading for a remote jungle region of South America. We’re looking for a region of lowland jungle east of the Andes that overlaps Bolivia, Argentina, and Paraguay. Most of it is sparsely populated but among the indigenous tribes that do live there are the Ayoreo.

For the Geo Quiz, we’re heading for a remote jungle region of South America. The area we’re looking for is vast but it’s not easy to pinpoint on a map. It’s a region of lowland jungle east of the Andes that overlaps Bolivia, Argentina, and Paraguay. Most of it is sparsely populated.

But among the indigenous tribes that do live there are the Ayoreo. They live deep in the jungle and have little contact with outsiders but ranchers and loggers are steadily closing in on the Ayoreo:

�They’re constantly having to flee really and leave their villages and gardens where they grow crops and all their possessions and run deeper and farther into the forest.�

Now, some say even a planned visit by a team of wildlife scientists might disturb the Ayoreo way of life. Does science put them at risk? And what’s the name of their homeland?

Geo Quiz
South America’s Ayoreo people
By The World ⋅ November 9, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Yahoo! Buzz

For the Geo Quiz, we’re heading for a remote jungle region of South America. The area we’re looking for is vast but it’s not easy to pinpoint on a map. It’s a region of lowland jungle east of the Andes that overlaps Bolivia, Argentina, and Paraguay. Most of it is sparsely populated.

But among the indigenous tribes that do live there are the Ayoreo. They live deep in the jungle and have little contact with outsiders but ranchers and loggers are steadily closing in on the Ayoreo:

�They’re constantly having to flee really and leave their villages and gardens where they grow crops and all their possessions and run deeper and farther into the forest.�

Now, some say even a planned visit by a team of wildlife scientists might disturb the Ayoreo way of life. Does science put them at risk? And what’s the name of their homeland?
Geo Answer:

The answer is Chaco or Gran Chaco. A planned visit by a team of scientists to study biodiversity there has raised concerns that the expedition could threaten the Ayoreo people’s way of life. Anchor Lisa Mullins finds out more from Jonathan Mazower, of the London-based human rights group Survival.