BioOne sees sustainable scholarly publishing as an inherently collaborative enterprise connecting authors, nonprofit publishers, academic institutions,research libraries, and research funders in the common goal of maximizing access to critical research.

Conservation of the Pantanal Wetlands: The Definitive Moment for DecisionMakingAuthor(s): Ana Carolina de Oliveira NevesSource: AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 38(2):127-128. 2009.Published By: Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1579/0044-7447-38.2.127URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1579/0044-7447-38.2.127

BioOne (www.bioone.org) is a nonprofit, online aggregation of core research in the biological, ecological,and environmental sciences. BioOne provides a sustainable online platform for over 170 journals and bookspublished by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Your use of this PDF, the BioOne Web site, and all posted and associated content indicates your acceptance ofBioOne’s Terms of Use, available at www.bioone.org/page/terms_of_use.

Usage of BioOne content is strictly limited to personal, educational, and non-commercial use. Commercialinquiries or rights and permissions requests should be directed to the individual publisher as copyright holder.

Synopsis

Conservation of the Pantanal Wetlands:The Definitive Moment for Decision Making

The Pantanal is a distinctive ecosystem.The floodplain is supposed to be one ofthe largest in the world and correspondsto the last refuge for hundreds of animaland plant species, many of which areendangered. Pantanal is still in a ratherpristine condition, because human occu-pation took place in a very slow pacebecause of the hydrogeologic regimes.However, in the last few years, high-impact economic activities have threatenedthe Pantanal wetland and the UpperParaguai River Basin (local name Baciado Alto rio Paraguai [BAP]).

The Pantanal periodic floodplain hasabout 160 000 km2 (almost half of the areaof Italia) situated in the BAP (Fig. 1). Thefloodplain comprises about 600 000 km2

and is shared by Paraguay, Bolivia eBrazil, which holds approximately 85% ofits area, in the states of Mato Grosso andMato Grosso do Sul. The surroundingplateau (planalto), which corresponds to59% of the area of the BAP, is essential tomaintain its natural processes, because itholds the sources of the Pantanal riversand constitutes refuge for animals inperiods of flood and climatic extremes (1).

The BAP is surrounded by the Amazonforest (north), the Brazilian savanna (orCerrado) (east), the Atlantic forest (southsoutheast) and Chaco (west). The influ-ence of these ecosystems, the combinationof varied soil types and the flood pulsewith annual and multi-annual variability,resulted in a mosaic habitat, which isresponsible for an extraordinary richwildlife. Although Pantanal does not holdhigh diversity or endemism values, it doeshold a high abundance of animals. Never-theless, Pantanal is the richest wetland onbird diversity in the world with 463 species(2), 130 of which are migratory and 117are on at least one state, national, orinternational list of threatened species (2–5) (Fig. 2). In addition, the Pantanal holdsthe largest known populations of severalthreatened mammals, such as pampas-deer(Ozotoceros bezoarticus), marsh-deer(Blastocerus dichotomus), giant otter (Pter-onura brasiliensis), and jaguar (Pantheraonca) (6–9) (Fig. 3).

The Pantanal had 17% of its areadevastated (1), a small quota when com-pared with 20% of the largest Brazilianbiome, the Amazon, to 80% of Cerradoand to 92% of the Atlantic Forest (10).The fact of being one of the largestBrazilian ecosystems still in rather pristinecondition makes it a strategic area fornature conservation. It has been main-tained in good conservation conditions so

far because of colonizers’ purpose, in 16thcentury, to maintain it as a secret so toavoid disputes between Spanish and Por-tuguese colonial states (because it initiallywas regarded as a fabulous region withlarge treasures). Moreover, the colonialexplorers did not find precious minerals inPantanal and faced difficulties with occu-pying the land because of the flood cyclesand also because of its isolation frommajor consumption centers (11).

Since the 19th century, the Pantanaleconomy has mainly focused on low-density cattle raising, with a low environ-mental impact, because of the smallhuman population density, the lack ofhigh technology and the lack of capitalinvestments. Agriculture is limited by lowfertility soils and by the flood cycles beingrestricted to the plateau. However, in thelast few decades, the advances in technol-ogy and the increasing capital investmentin Pantanal has intensified its utility. Theintensive and competitive exploration re-placed the traditional model of cattleraising, after deforestation and burningfields for regrowth and the control ofcattle plagues, besides the introduction ofexotic grasses and the use of herbicides (1,12). There are problems related to jaguarand puma poaching (Puma concolor) byranchers because of cattle predation (6,13). The exploration of skins of giant otterand caimans (Caiman crocodilus yacare)were critical until 1990, when its cyclefinished due to the international marketrequirements for the legalization of skins(14, 15). There are also problems related togold mining. This activity resulted in largedevastated areas revolved and in mercurycontamination of the food chain (16).Also, the reservoirs for hydroelectricpower generation in the catchment areamodified the discharge pattern and sedi-ment loads of the tributaries (17).

In the last few years, some industrialand farming initiatives were proposed forthe BAP, which could cause large-scaledisruption of ecological processes in thisecosystem. A metallurgical complex isbeing implemented in the city of Corumbafor iron production in association with bigcompanies that have been denounced forenvironment devastation. Projects havealready been proposed for setting up athermoelectric power plant and a gas-chemical complex in Corumba area, andthen extending the Paraguai-Parana wa-terway up to 3400 km. Other projects alsoinclude the installation of industrial plantsin the plateau, which will extract biomassalcohol from sugar cane.

The allocation of economic projectswithout environmental responsibility willjeopardize the hydrologic processes andclimatic stability in Pantanal, causingbiodiversity loss and local, and evenglobal, extinctions (1), and will alsocollapse the productivity in the LowParaguay River Basin. The three formerprojects can generate water and atmo-spheric pollution, and increase erosiveprocesses, leakages, and deforestation es-pecially after the charcoal supply formetallurgy. The Paraguai-Parana water-way will demand forceful reengineering ofthe Paraguay River bed, such as rockexplosions and the construction of dikes inthe tributaries. Flood cycles may beseverely altered, which would affect biodi-versity. The allocation of alcohol distiller-ies may lead to water pollution byagricultural toxics and vinhoto (a toxicbyproduct generated in alcohol produc-tion), impaired soil from sugar-canemonocultures, and retention of sedimentsin rivers because of deforestation andflood intensification.

We already can witness serious conse-quences of nonsustainable practices in thesurrounding plateau at the low TaquariRiver region. The larger socio-environ-mental disaster in Pantanal reached 5000km2 (corresponding to 3.6% of the Pan-tanal) and hampered the flood cycle,which caused permanent flooding becauseof deforestation in the plateau afterTaquari River silting. Therefore, fishsupplies diminished, there were changesin the aquatic and semi-aquatic foodchain, in cattle ranching, and subsistencecultures. Also, such networked problemevents led local human communities towide displacements (18).

Pantanal was declared a NationalHeritage by the Brazilian Constitution in

Figure 1. General landscape of the Pantanalfloodplain with Serra da Bodoquena in thebackground, in the dry season, viewed from ameteorological tower.

Ambio Vol. 38, No. 2, March 2009 127� Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2009http://www.ambio.kva.se

1988, and a World Biosphere Reserve byUNESCO, and in 2000 was granted theWorld Heritage Certificate. In addition,Pantanal was acknowledged as a Ramsarsite in 1993 and was identified as asignificant wetland area by the 7th Inter-national Wetlands Conference (19). Pan-tanal is considered ‘‘globally outstanding’’(rank 1 of 4) in terms of biological dis-tinctiveness, ‘‘vulnerable’’ (rank 3 of 5) interms of conservation, and has the ‘‘high-est priority’’ (rank 1 of 4) in regionalpriorities for conservation action accord-ing to the conservation assessment of theWorld Wildlife Fund and the BiodiversitySupport Program (20). Several interna-tional conventions, e.g., the Ramsar Con-vention, the Convention on BiologicalDiversity, the Convention on ClimateChange, the Convention on MigratorySpecies, and the World Heritage Conven-tion, have set up a framework for theconservation of the Pantanal as a globallysignificant wetland (17). Nevertheless,databases on socio-economic, hydrologi-cal, and ecological factors in Pantanal areinsufficient and fragmented.

There are problems concerning theenvironmental legislation, because it doesnot consider the Pantanal wetland and theplateau as connected ecosystems thatmake the BAP an ecological and function-al unity. An example is given by the‘‘Pantanal Law’’ (Lei do Pantanal, no.8.830), approved in January, 21, 2008, bythe Mato Grosso Provincial Parliament.This is the first law to appraise thedistinctiveness of Pantanal to regulateand restrict various activities. Even thoughthe law enforcement focused on the BAPin the state of Mato Grosso, it actuallydoes not include the plateau but only thewetlands. There are problems also relatedto public policies for the region thatsupport that idea (19). Besides those facts,the current idea of economic developmentfor the region that shows high environ-mental-impact activities seriously threat-ens the ecosystem. The total protected areainside Pantanal (360 000 ha) is about 2.6%of the fraction in Brazilian territory (21).The major conservation challenge consistsin finding socio-economic models thatreconcile environmental protection and

land use (19). It should include betterassessment of organic and ecologicalproduces, appraisal of environmental ser-vices, food and healing resources, as wellas the genetic patrimony.

Therefore, Pantanal pledges for newprogressive and focused environmentallegislation that considers the unique fea-tures of the region and the BAP under aglobal view, integrating wetland and pla-teau. The deforestation annual rate ofPantanal has recently reached 2.3%, pro-jecting complete depletion in the next 45years (22). This is a critical moment formaking decisions that should warrant forthe future generations the conservation ofsuch well-preserved (so far) and one of thelargest wetlands in the world.

References and Notes

1. Harris, M.B., Tomas, W.M., Mourao, G., Silva, C.J.,Guimaraes, E., Sonoda, F. and Fachim, E. 2005.Challenges in protecting the Pantanal of Brazil: threatsand conservation initiatives. Megadiversidade. 1, 156–164. (In Portuguese with English summary).

2. Tubelis, D.P. and Tomas, W. M. 2003. Bird species ofthe wetland, Brazil. Ararajuba 11, 5–37.

3. Antas, P.T.Z. 1994. Migration and other movementsamong the lower Parana River valley wetland, Argen-tina, and the south Brazil/Pantanal wetlands. BirdConserv. Int. 4, 181–190.

4. Nunes, A.P. and Tomas, W.M. 2004. Migratory Birdsin Pantanal: Characterization and Conservation. SerieDocumentos. Embrapa Pantanal, Corumba, 29 pp. (InPortuguese) . (ht tp : / /www.cpap.embrapa .br/publicacoes/online/DOC62.pdf)

5. Tomas, W.M., Souza, L.L. and Tubelis, D.P. 2004.Threatened bird species in the Pantanal. In: Anais do IVSimposio sobre Recursos Naturais e Socio-economicos doPantanal—Sustentabilidade Regional. Soriano, B.M.A.,Salis, S.M., Mourao, G.M. and Pellegrin, L.A. (eds).Embrapa Pantanal, Corumba, pp. 1–10. (In Portuguesewith English summary). (http://www.cpap.embrapa.br/agencia/simpan/sumario/artigos/asperctos/pdf/bioticos/617RB-Aves%20ameacadas%20OKVisto.pdf)

6. Alho, C.J. and R and Lacher, T.E. Jr. 1991. Mamma-lian conservation in the Pantanal of Brazil. In: LatinAmerican Mammalogy: History, Biodiversity and Con-servation. Mares, M.A. and Schmidly, D.J. (eds).University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, pp. 280–294.

7. Mourao, G., Coutinho, M., Mauro, R., Campos, Z.,Tomas, W. and Magnusson, W. 2000. Aerial surveys ofcaiman, marsh deer and pampas deer in the Pantanalwetland of Brazil. Biol. Conserv. 92, 175–183.

8. Tomas, W.M., Lima Borges, P.A., Rocha, H.J.F., SaFilho, R., Kutchenski, F. Jr. and Udry, T.V. 2001.Potential of the Aquidauana and Miranda Rivers, inthe Pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul, for giant otterconservation (Pteronura brasiliensis). In: Anais do IIISimposio sobre Recursos Naturais e Socio-economicos doPantanal—Os Desafios do Novo Milenio. Dantas, M.,Resende, E.K. and Comastri Filho, J.A. (eds). Embra-pa Pantanal, Corumba, pp. 1–12. (In Portuguese with

English summary). (http://www.cpap.embrapa.br/agencia/congresso/Bioticos/TOMAS-073.pdf)

9. Sanderson, E.W., Chetkiewicz, C.L.B., Medellin, R.A.,Rabinowitz, A., Redford, K.H., Robinson, J.G. andTaber, A.B. 2002. Geographic analysis of the conser-vation status and distribution of jaguars in their homerange. In: El Jaguar en el Nuevo Milenio. Medellın,R.A., Equihua, C., Chetkiewicz, C.L.B., Crawshaw,P.G. Jr., Rabinowitz, A., Redford, K.H., Robinson,J.G., Sanderson, E.W., et al. (eds). Fondo de CulturaEconomica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mex-ico, Mexico and Wildlife Conservation Society, NewYork, pp. 551–560. (In Spanish).

10. Conservation International Brazil. (http://www.conservation.org.br/onde/)

11. Costa, M.F. 1999. History of a Non-Existent Country:The Pantanal Between the Centuries XVI and XVIII.Estacao Liberdade/Kosmos, Sao Paulo, 277 pp. (InPortuguese).

12. Padovani, C.R., Cruz, M.L.L. and Padovani, S.L.A.G.2004. Deforestation in the Pantanal of Brazil for theyear 2000. In: Anais do IV Simposio sobre RecursosNaturais e Socio-economicos do Pantanal— Sustentabi-lidade Regional. Soriano, B.M.A., Salis, S.M., Mourao,G.M. and Pellegrin, L.A.(eds). Embrapa Pantanal,Corumba, pp. 1–7. (In Portuguese with Englishsummary). (http://www.cpap.embrapa.br/agencia/simpan/sumario/artigos/asperctos/pdf/bioticos/611RB_Padovani_1_OKVisto.pdf)

13. Crawshaw, P. 2002. Jaguar killings by humans and itsconservation: the Pantanal and the Parque NacionalIguacu in Brazil. In: El Jaguar en el Nuevo Milenio.Medellın, R.A., Equihua, C., Chetkiewicz, C.L.B.,Crawshaw, P.G. Jr., Rabinowitz, A., Redford, K.H.,Robinson, J.G., Sanderson, E.W., et al. (eds). Fondo deCultura Economica, Universidad Nacional Autonomade Mexico, Mexico and Wildlife Conservation Society,New York, pp. 451–462. (In Spanish).

14. Mourao, G., Campos, Z.S., Coutinho, M.E. andAbercrombie, C. 1996. Size structure of illegallyharvested and surviving caiman in Pantanal, Brazil.Biol. Conserv. 75, 261–265.

15. Verdade, L.M. 2004. The exploitation of wildlife inBrazil: caimans, systems and human resources. BiotaNeotropica 4, 1–12. (In Portuguese with Englishsummary). (http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v4n2/pt/abstract?point-of-viewþBN02804022004)

16. Vieira, L.M., Silva, V.N. and Campos, R.C. 2004. Totalmercury levels in fish flesh as contamination indicatorsin aquatic systems in Pantanal. In: Anais do IV Simposiosobre Recursos Naturais e Socio-economicos do Pan-tanal—Sustentabilidade Regional. Soriano, B.M.A.,Salis, S.M., Mourao, G.M. and Pellegrin, L.A. (eds).Embrapa Pantanal, Corumba, pp. 1–9. (In Portuguesewith English summary). (http://www.cpap.embrapa.br/agencia/simpan/sumario/artigos/asperctos/pdf/bioticos/633-RB-%20Artigo%20Hg%20Peixes-%20OKVisto.PDF)

17. Junk, W.J. and Cunha, C.N. 2005. Pantanal: a largeSouth American wetland at a crossroads. Ecol. Eng. 24,391–401.

18. Galdino, S., Vieira, L.M. and Pellegrin, L.A. 2006.Environmental and Socioeconomic Impacts in the Ta-quari River Basin—Pantanal. Embrapa Pantanal, Co-rumba, 358 pp. (In Portuguese). (http://www.cpap.embrapa.br/publicacoes/online/Livro025.pdf)

19. Tocantins, M.A.C., Sousa, W.C. Jr., Pereira, P.G.P.,Guimaraes, E. and Lourival, R. 2006. Diagnostic ofpolitic and environmental economy for the Pantanal.Megadiversidade 2, 1–22. (In Portuguese with Englishsummary).

20. Olson, D., Dinerstein, E., Canevari, P., Davidson, I.,Castro, G., Morisset, V., Abell, R. and Toledo, E. 1998.Freshwater Biodiversity of Latin America and theCarribean: A Conservation Assessment. BiodiversitySupport Program, Washington DC, 70 pp.

21. Brazilian Environmental Institute (IBAMA). (http://www.ibama.gov.br/)

22. Harris, M.B., Arcangelo, C., Pinto, E.C.T., Camargo,G., Neto, M.B.R. and Silva, S.M. 2006. Estimates oforiginal vegetation loss in the High Paraguay RiverBasin and in the Pantanal of Brazil: threatens andperspectives. Natureza & Conservacao 4, (2), 50–66. (InPortuguese with English summary).

23. The author is grateful to Caroline Leuchtenberger, forkindly providing us with figures 2 and 3.

Ana Carolina de Oliveira NevesUniversidade Federal de Minas GeraisInstituto Biotropicos de Pesquisa emVida Silvestre

Brazilananeves@gmail.com

Figure 2. Hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchushyacinthinus), an endangered bird species ofPantanal.

Figure 3. The Pantanal holds the largestknown populations of the jaguar (Pantheraonca) and several other threatened mam-mals.

128 Ambio Vol. 38, No. 2, March 2009� Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2009http://www.ambio.kva.se