Frontier Brazil-Paraguay

REGION OF ITAIPU / GUAIRÁ
BRIEF HISTÓRICAL NEWS

1) INTRODUCTION

In 1965, Paraguay raised a question on how to complete the "characterization" of the "dry line" at the arrival in the river Parana. To understand this issue, it is important, at first, to recall that the study of the limit in a stretch of international border is donne taking into account three phases of the establishment ot this border: "délimitation", "demarcation" and "characterization".








2) HISTORY

The délimitation of this part of the border, was established by the Treaty of 1872, which says: "... by the "álveo" of rio Paraná... From the Salto Grande of Seven Falls, follows the dividing line by the highest of Serra de Maracajú to where it ends".
The demarcation in the region ended in 1874 when, at the completion of the latest Conference, it was very well established the description of this stretch of the border: The line limit follows in the "general direction ... of 53º SE, ... with 46,3 km of distance in this direction comes to the 5ª and most important of the Seven Falls, which are formed by the meeting of the mountain with the river Paraná" (12th Ata, 8.jun.1874).
In 1927 it was signed with Paraguay a new Supplementary Treaty in order to set the limit along the river Paraguay, which had not been included in the Treaty of 1872 (It was not known to whom were the land of the right bank of the river, to Paraguay or Bolivia). The main purpose of this treaty was to establish, how the islands should be defined in this stretch of the border (from the confluense of River Apa in the river Paraguay, to the entry or desaguadouro of Bahia Negra). In that treaty, there is no reference to the "dry line", that we are dealing with.
On the ocasion of the establishment of the Joint Commission that was in charge to conduct the demarcation of this Treaty, it was signed in 1930, a Memorandum of Instructions for the operation of the Commission, which, in addiition to further defined work to be carried out, along the river Paraguay, had also stated (Art. 10º) to repair or replace landmarks on the border "dry line" donne in the demarcation of 1874; yet establesing to construct " news landmarks between existing ones, in the highlands of the border ... so that each portion of the line, could be defined by a polygonal straight, characterized by their corners and the existing marks, that should be constructed, fulfiling that any of them could, with direct sight, to see the two continguos".
Works, to improve the characterization of the border had their normal development. Hving started in the spring of the Arroio Estrela (at the North), followed deploying more than eight hundred marks, through, Ponta Porã and Pedro Juan Caballero, has been divided into four "dry line" Sectors.


3) DECADE OF 1960
When works arrived at the end of the Sector IV, it had the possibility to follow the "uplands" to the river Paraná by two lines: one more to the south, aiming to reach cited 5th and most important of the Seven Falls and another further North, arriving in a bathed in the curve formed by the Parana River, before falling into the groves of the Seven Falls.




It was on this occasion that Paraguay raised the issue, wanting a solution more to the North, claiming that this stretch of the border had to be better demarcated by the Joint Commission, unaware that the work assigned to the Commission, was just works of caracterizatio, since the work, in this part of the border (demarcatio), had already finished int the previous century, in 1874; so the line should reach the border gorge of the River Parana, next to the "5ª and more important of Seven Falls".


4) TREATY OF ITAIPU
In the decade starting in 1960 it was starting studies for hydroelectric exploitation of the region. Bearing in mind that the hydroelectric potential, depends mainly on the amount of water in the gap, the waters belonging to Pargauay were in front of the 5th fall, at the low, since no gap and therefore without potential. The sense of falls was from east to west, the Brazilian side to the wall in the side of pargauay.
This is why the insistence on Paraguayan limit, to move limit a position more to the North, ending at mountant of Seven Fall, in higher waters.
The solution, initially donne by the the Minute of Iguazu, of 1966, and after the signing Treaty of Itaipu in 1973, provided the slowdown of the question - with the sacrifice of Seven falls, as previously thought that the area under discussion would be greatly flooded. Paraguay, now had water also in the high part of the river Parana.
However, the flooding of Lake Itaipu, maximum near the barrage was minimal in the region in question (about 10%), flooding just neer the Paraguayan city of Saltos del Guairá.




When on the occasion of the signing of the Treaty of Itaipu, there was the concern of not changing the issue of limits, even appear in the text (Art. VII) the assertion that "The facilities for the production of electric energy and auxillary works will not produce any variation in the limits between the two countries, established in the existing treaties"
So is that the solution to the deployment of the line limit in this final part of the IV Sector, should be made to reach the place where there was the Fifth Fall.
5) CURRENT SITUATION
In the years 1996 to 1998 the Commission of limits that still was working to characterize the border, managed to resume the construction of some marks - That had stopped at Mark IV/366, in the decade of 1960. So, there were built 9 more landmarks, to the Marco IV/375 even out of the bifurcation that initiate the two solutions considered (the Brazilian, more at south, and the Paraguayan more to the North). These marks are still out of "The Biological Refuge of Marcajú", which now covers the contested area
The asphalted road that comes from the Brazilian city of Novo Mundo/MS, shortly before heading out to the bridge over the River Parana, toward Guaíra/PR, has a junction that follows to the Paraguayan city of Saltos del Guairá, passing between the last mark implanted in dry line, the IV/375 mark and the Biological Refuge, administered by the Itaipu Binational.
In this region the Brazilian Federal Costum builded a post Control (now abandoned). In this stretch of road, the asphalt is stopped in both directions, due to the lack of definition of exactly where the international limit line passes, between Brazil and Paraguay.

Click at the south part of the map
6) APROX. COORDINATES OF 5ª FALLING
Considering the importance of the location of the 5th Fall (mentioned in the 16th Ata from 1874 as "the most important of Seven-falls"), seeking the historiography of demarcation, geographic values, referring to Seven falls.
In the 17th Ata, there are references to various coordinates of points of the Demarcation, observed in 1874 and there we see written: "The Geographic Position of 5th Falls of the Seven-falls is latitud 24º 03´ 31.42" South; longitud 11º 06' 0.30"... the longitudes are referred to the Imperial Observatory in Rio de Janeiro". This figure correspond to the longitud 54º 18' WGr.
In 1934 determinations were made at the Paraguayan margin, in front of the 5th fall, calling the place, "Astronomy Pillar", with coordinates: -24º 03' 58,187" and -54º 17' 11,415" Also, in 1958, were held back observation on the "Astromony Pillar" and it was obtained: -24º 03' 59.3" and -54º 17' 10.5" (Values used in the 25th Ata from 1961).
7) CONSTRUCTION OF ONE MORE MARK - IV/376
Aiming to continue the characterization of the Sector IV, we have imagined the construction of at least one more mark (it would be the IV/376), located on the other side of the road that follows to Salto del Guairá, already at the limit of The Biological Refuge, in a visible position the last mark (IV/375), approximately 250 meters.
To consider its position, without extensions that looks on topographical, the Brazilian more to the South or the paraguayan claim, at the North, we imagine an azimuth of Direct IV/375 mark of 151º, or 127º, roughly perpendicular to the alignment of the road that follows from Mundo Novo/MS for the Paraguayan city of Saltos del Guairá.
8) BIOLOGICAL RESERVE OF MARACAJU
At the moment of the solution found with the Itaipu Lake creation, it was thought that a big portion of the area in discusion would be flooded. Also in the bi-national company "Itaipu", by a resolution of its Board of Executive Directors RDE-051/84 of 27.06.1984, it was created the "Biological Refuge of Maracaju" with area of 13.56 km2, seeking to isolate the area questioned by Paraguay.
After the filling of Lake Itaipu, it was found that only one area of 1.10 km2 of the Biológical Refuge was taken by the waters (less than 10%).
Currently the reserve is administered by the Itaipu Binational, its entering is in the Paraguayan city of Saltos del Guairá and covers an area of 16.60 km2.
9) ARROUND THE RESERVE (the two solutions)
Aiming to compare both Paraguayan and Brazilian solutions, a 3 dimensional survey (horizontal/altimetric) was made along the roads following the Maracajú Biological Reserve borders, on the northern side (defended by Paraguay) and along the southern side (defended by Brazil).
It was verified that the brazilian solution, besides to follows a longer and higher road, it is heading the 5th Fall (mentioned in the 1874's 16 Act, as "the main important of the 7 Falls"), as it can be seen at the google-earth image; this condition must be obey because the Itaipú Treaty specify that because of it, no variations in the limits could be made between the two countries and this it was clearly stated in the Act and Cartography produced by the "1874 Boundary Demarcation".