18 require on-site observation of the lands. The information concerning the current land use was limited to two short interviews conducted by the NGO "Tierraviva.” The settlements comprising the Sawhoyamaxa Community are located on the East edge of the Paraguayan Chaco, west of the city of Concepción. This is the area with which the Sawhoyamaxa Community has historically been associated; it is situated within the ancestral territory of the Enxet, stretching over 200 km along the right bank of Paraguay River, from the González stream in the north up to the Montelindo stream down south. Climatic variations in the region directly affect the distribution and abundance of plants and animal species, on which the indigenous peoples have traditionally relied for their subsistence. Historically, the indigenous peoples of the Paraguayan Chaco have provided for their basic needs by gathering plants and fruit, by fishing and by gathering honey, and occasionally through small-scale horticulture and the husbandry of farm animals. People used to have a wide range of techniques for accessing various resources. The diversity of techniques for procuring food enabled the families to respond to seasonal variations, which were, on occasion, extreme. Another key element was the ability of entire groups of families (bands) to regularly change their location, which enabled them to use resources rotationally. Because of the structure of the Chaco geography, food resources were located apart from each other. The Enxet used to live within certain hunting grounds they established. These areas included places with permanent or semi-permanent water and the resources needed for the subsistence of the group. Group mobility was crucial for subsistence, and it has been so for most huntergatherer societies worldwide. This trait gave people the flexibility needed for adjusting to the changing environment in any circumstance. The colonization of the Paraguayan Chaco by non-indigenous people, and the imposition of activities connected with the market economy, triggered a process of progressive changes in the region such as the transfer of lands to private property. The fencing in of the fields, together with the authority of the new owners, who enjoyed the support of government officials, had the effect of restricting, and eventually stopping, residential mobility. The last hunting grounds reserves of the Enxet were fenced in at the beginning of 1940. By the second half of 1970, it was estimated that over 70% of the people who lived in communities that had settled in private estates still hunted, fished and gathered. Paid work, either seasonal or for short terms, literally developed into a whole new subsistence method for the indigenous people. The restrictions on residential mobility meant that the indigenous people could not relocate to new hunting grounds, which led to the depletion of game in the area. The settled communities developed smallscale vegetable patches (sweet potato and tapioca were the most common crops). The lands claimed by the Sawhoyamaxa Community lie between two wide stretches of palm-tree savannah situated to their north and south. The territory comprises a corridor joining a series of forest islands separating these two savannahs. These forests are associated to water streams running from west to east towards the Paraguay River, and includes gallery forests. The diversity of the vegetation covering