WWF Brazil - Activities

Pantanal Forever Programme

In 1999, WWF-Brazil initiated a holistic conservation programme for the biome with interventions on several fronts. The programme is promoted locally under the Pantanal Forever name and features the following activities:

• Support for the creation of protected areas
• Identifying and stimulating environmentally viable economic activities
• Educating entrepreneurs on how to establish sustainable tourism in the region
• Broadening scientific knowledge in the area
• Providing incentives for community participation in environmental debates
• Supporting the definition of public policies on conservation

Alternative ways of earning a living
As well as focusing on specific species, WWF is helping the people in the Pantanal find sustainable ways of generating income. Cattle ranching today, for example, is not what it used to be some 20 years ago.

As inheritances reduce the size of the land owned individually, many farmers are struggling to increase cattle productivity to be competitive - and some are turning to tourism. WWF is helping ensure cattle ranching and tourism activities are environmentally friendly.

Bringing Pantanal in the public eye
Further to a survey that showed that most are unaware of the importance of the area, WWF started working with the media to draw the public's attention to the wetland and the threats it faces. WWF is also finding incentives to get people to participate in environmental debates and ultimately become more involved in conservation policies.

Discussion groups are frequently held in and around Corumba where WWF regularly discusses with the local people what kind of future they would like to have for the Pantanal - what kind of Pantanal do they want in 10 or 20 years. One such gathering led to the project's name "Pantanal Forever", as inhabitants expressed their wish to keep on using the wetland's resources in the future.

Wake-up call to the politicians
WWF is also actively working with municipal authorities and politicians who often live miles from the area but who make the judgments that impact on its resources. By collaborating with the decision-makers, WWF strives to ensure any use of the wetland is sustainable.

As politicians become more aware of the Pantanal, WWF is helping them see alternatives to hazardous development projects, such as the plan to build the waterway across the Paraguay and Parana rivers. By teaming up with the Brazilian and Bolivian governments, WWF hopes to avoid the destruction of thousands of kilometres of pristine wetland.

Saving the world's biggest parrots
One of the projects relates to the Hyacinth macaw. This bird is not only the largest of all parrot species; it is also in great danger of extinction. Capture for the pet trade and habitat destruction have resulted in only 5,000 birds being left in the wild in Brazil, the country with the world's highest variety of parrots. Acting on this worrying number, WWF built artificial nests and sheltered breeding areas from potential predators. Thanks to these efforts, macaw numbers are now increasing.