WWF Projects

Background

The Pantanal is a very fragile and threatened ecosystem. Population totals about 206,000 inhabitants, with a demographic density of approximately 1.8 inhabitants per square kilometre, in contrast to 17 inhabitants per square kilometre in Brazil. There are several groups of indigenous populations in the region.

Because it lies in scarcely populated parts of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, human impacts are still quite limited - but this trend, is reversing. Meanwhile, there is no clear long-term vision of the kind of development that should take place there.

This poses a major threat on the vast natural habitat and species of the area, but also provides WWF with a clear opportunity to help shape a vision of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development based on the wise use of its natural resources.

WWF Offices in Brazil and Bolivia
With the development of the area intensifying, WWF is helping to ensure the environment is not annihilated in the process. As the Pantanal straddles several countries, WWF has set up offices in Brazil and Bolivia - the two nations that shelter most of the gigantic wetland - to tackle the problems at their inception. WWF runs different activities from each office to respond to divergent national situations.

The office in Cormuba, Brazil, runs the "Pantanal Forever" initiative, whilst "Pantanal, un hogar para cuidar" (a place to take care of) is directed from the office in Puerto Suarez, a little town on the shores of Laguna Caceres in Bolivia.

Same wetland, different laws
In Brazil, most of the land covered by the wetland is privately owned by a handful of wealthy people who either have ranches or run tourism-related enterprises. The area comes under a series of laws pertaining to resource use, and is mostly threatened by excessive sport fishing and unsound agricultural practices.

In Bolivia, where tourism is still quite rare and laws pertaining to the use of the wetlands' resources are either in their infancy or inexistent, the land is divided between the state, indigenous peoples groups and timber companies. The main concern here is acting to preserve the area before it gets degraded.