Threats to the region

Black clouds all year round

Like nimbuses in the rainy season, big-scale development projects and pollution from boats, over-fishing, poaching, intensive agriculture, and fires all loom over the Pantanal.

Barging through the wetland
Because few roads and railway lines span this part of South America, rivers and lakes are used as highways. Large boats ensure that both commercial goods and people get from A to B. In doing so, they endanger the wetland because of the rubbish they dump, the oil and fuel they leak, and the waves they create that erode the fragile banks.

Dynamite and shovels - development projects
In the Pantanal, the size and ambition of development projects are as huge as the animals the ecosystem shelters. The most notorious of these is a plan to build a 3,400 km waterway across the Paraguay and Parana rivers.

This would involve 'straightening out' the bends in the rivers, constructing dikes, dynamiting rocks and removing millions of cubic meters of sediments. On the one hand, the waterway would provide access to larger boats and therefore boost trade; on the other, it would irreparably devastate the wetland.

But many local people see the waterway project as a chance to get a better-paid job and a better style of living.

The Brazilian government announced, in January 2001 that it was giving up on the project. Still, the way navigation is currently done in the rivers of the region causes degradation of riverbanks and the vegetation near those rivers, demanding immediate measures to recover the region and establish boat traffic control.

Mining and hydroelectric schemes
In recent years, mining and the construction of hydroelectric schemes have further disrupted the ecosystems of the Pantanal that depend on the movement of water.

In some parts of the Pantanal, areas that used to be totally dry during the dry season are now covered by water throughout the year. Negative impacts in the headwaters, or artificial changes to the natural watercourse to improve river transport have the potential to drastically alter the entire floodplain. The exploitation of natural resources and the steady occupation of land present a mounting threat to biological diversity in the Pantanal.

Going for the big fish
Over-fishing, especially of the few species that reach 25 kilos or more, is an important threat to the ecological stability of the Pantanal. Every year, an estimated 600,000 to 700,000 people come to the area armed with high-tech rods exclusively to reel in the biggest catch possible.

This quest has resulted in local extinctions throughout the wetland. Within Brazil's 8 months open season, fishermen account for 90% of all tourists that come to the Pantanal.

Encouraged by the influx of visitors, farmers of the region have been adapting their properties to receive tourists. While the interest in visiting the Pantanal presents an exciting opportunity to develop tourism as an alternative economic activity compatible with the wetlands, there is a danger of degrading the environment through overexploitation and heavy human impact.

Poaching from paradise
Fish are not the only creatures that suffer in the Pantanal. Many other species are taken out - dead or alive, by unscrupulous individuals. Birds are often the target of poachers. The hyacinth macaw, for example, is still captured for the international pet trade although it is one of the most endangered parrot species on earth. The caiman and otters are caught for their skin, whilst other protected animals are trapped for human consumption.

This is already becoming apparent in some of the popularly frequented areas. It is clear that tourism will need to be carefully managed and controlled if the natural attractions that draw visitors are to maintain their appeal into the future.

Deforestation and chemicals: a mix for intensive agriculture
Many crops are cultivated in and around the Pantanal, some on a small-scale, others in enormous fields. Take Soybeans for example, which are exported to the United States and Europe. The producers cut vast areas of forest to grow the beans and use a lot of chemicals.

This affects the function of the forest where it acts like a sponge to absorb and gradually release water, thereby reducing floods. As a result the area is beginning to have a lot of problems with soil being washed away during the rains and sedimentation in the rivers. Also, the herbicides and pesticides reach the waterways and slowly accumulate in the ecosystem.

Burning issue
In August and September every year, farmers set fire to their fields in an attempt to increase the fertility of their land. Sometimes these fires get out of control and destroy large areas of surrounding vegetation. Lack of control policies and enforcement mean that farmers are often left to their own devices, and carry on with their ways, unaware of the long-term damage they are causing.

Lack of protected areas
Finally, the other major problem in the region is the lack of protected areas. Most of the Pantanal is in the hands of private owners, and only 1.3% of the region is under legal protection (national parks and reserves). Thus creation of new government-protected areas would require large sums of fund to buy areas back. The current budged and fiscal situation of the country makes this very difficult.