Threats to and Conservation of Wetland Environments

in the Pantanal

Keiichiro YOSHIDA (Yokohama National University, Japan)

- Japan-Brazil Symposium on Research Collaboration -

- Contents -

• The Pantanal – Location – Diversity – Human

• Threat to the Pantanal – Deforestation – Modifying the hydrological cycle – Sedimentation and flood regimes

• Negative effects of conservation – “arrombado”

• Comprehensive approach – Toward wetland conservation

PantanalBrazil

Brasilia

Sao Paulo

Atlantic

Pacific

Fig. Map of the Pantanal The gray-hatched area indicates the Brazil Pantanal.

Nhécolândia

Paiaguás

Cuiaba

Campo Grande

Corumba

baia

cerradão

cerrado

campo limpo

campo sujo

Fig. Vegetation types and water level in the Pantanal.

(Yoshida et al. 2006)

cerrado campo limpo campo sujo

• Cattle ranching – since 19th century

• Sustainable resource management

– natural grasslands used as pasture – practices for maintaining the grassland – control of the flood regime

• “wise use” of wetlands

Threats to the Pantanal

Threats to the Pantanal

Deforestation • The natural forests (cerrado and

cerradão) have been replaced by pasture for cattle ranching.

Threats to the Pantanal

Deforestation

Modifying the hydrology • The road crossing the Pantanal

changed the hydrological cycle.

Transpantaneira (147km)

←upstream downstream→

Threats to the Pantanal

Deforestation

Modifying the hydrology

Sedimentation • The river sedimentation changed

the flood regime in Taquari basin .

Rio Taquari

• Wetland conservation policies – Establishment of protected areas – Prevention of deforestation – Prohibition of flood control activities

Parque Nacional do Pantanal Matogrossense

Negative effect

of conservation policy

arrombado (“boca do caronal”)

• “arrombado” (“boca do rio”) – The natural levee breaks – Traditionally, the local inhabitants close them

to mitigate the flood damage.

• However, the closure of arrombado has been prohibited since the 1990s to “conserve the wetland ecosystem”

Nhécolândia

Paiaguás

Rio Taquari

arrombado

Nov 1987 Nov 1997

Table. Forest decline and tree species on the earth mounds (“capãoes” & “murundus” ) in the inundated area of Paiaguas.

decline class 1 decline class 3 decline class 5

Natural Resource Degradation

• forest decline • habitat loss • biodiversity reduction

Expansion of perennial inundation area

Prohibition of closure of “arrombado”

Social Problems

• farmland abandonment • Pantaneiro leaving the Pantanal • loss of traditional knowledge

How can we conserve the Pantanal?

• Loss of traditional wetland management systems – non-sustainable use of natural resources – conservation policies without concerning about the local

inhabitants

• Conservation of the human-influenced wetland – A comprehensive approach that integrates traditional

knowledge and modern science – Contribution to both wetland conservation and human well-

being

Decline of the traditional cattle ranching

Degradation of the wetland environments

Explore new relationships between human and nature in the Pantanal