Blog & News

November 4th, 2024

Preserving the Pantanal: Challenges and Conservation Efforts

Author: Diana Navarro, MEDS

The term "ecology" was first defined by German zoologist Ernst Haeckel in 1866, originating from the Greek word "oikos" meaning "house" or "habitat." However, these ideas date back to the 4th century BC, when philosophers like Aristotle and Theophrastus studied relationships between organisms and their environments. Over time, ecology has evolved into an interdisciplinary science, with conservation ecology focusing on biodiversity preservation. Today, ecosystems worldwide—from prairies in the United States to the Russian steppe to the Pantanal—face threats like habitat loss, climate change, and extreme weather - driving alarming biodiversity declines.

Often eclipsed by the Amazon rainforest, the Pantanal possesses the highest concentration of wildlife in South America. It is the world's largest tropical wetland that spans roughly about 70,000 square miles—which is larger than the country of Greece. The Pantanal is home to jaguars, giant otters, capybaras, and over 450 species of birds and, is a critical stronghold for these animals. Protecting the Pantanal is not just an environmental imperative, but a moral obligation to safeguard the richness of life on our planet.

This wetland seeps into three different countries in South America: Paraguay, Bolivia, and Brazil; together they formed the Trinational Pantanal Initiative aimed at the sustainable development of the Pantanal. Since this initiative was launched in 2018, intense wildfires have erupted in the wetlands, spanning over 15,000 square miles as of June 2024. Notably in 2020, the Pantanal experienced a significant loss to the biome, when over a third of it burned and ~17 million animals killed. The urgency to protect this area and its inhabitants could not be more vital than it is now, but how does ecology play an impact in its conservation efforts?

Understanding the stressors of the environment and the interrelationships between the organisms is pivotal to survival for key species and the landscape. Consider the relationship of deforestation and wildfires: deforestation + low soil moisture -  dry biomass in soil + drier climate - ideal conditions for wildfires. We can see in the case of the Pantanal that it can put as many as 17 million lives at risk. This ecosystem is incredibly important and understanding the ecology of it is critical to conservation.

Organizations like the Smithsonian Conservation Ecology Center and Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) have begun supporting local organizations because local communities can drive success in ways larger organizations can’t.. One of these local organizations is the Fazenda Pantaneira Sustentável (FPS), a sustainable ranch organization. Sustainable cattle ranching in the Pantanal is a success story that demonstrates the importance of balancing human activity with environmental protection. By certifying ranches under FPS standards, the program promotes practices that improve land management, animal welfare, and the overall quality of life for both people and wildlife. Residents, especially in secluded areas like the Pantanal, understand the fragility of the balance within the environment and care immensely about the people and animals. They are the ones immediately impacted by extreme weather events like drought, wildfires, and deforestation. With that being said, this does not mean that we shouldn't support outside organizations that want to help, but prioritizing partnerships that incorporate local perspectives and knowledge should be the standard.

Sustainable ranching is just one way to enhance the quality of life in the Pantanal. Researchers at the Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul are exploring passive restoration and direct seed sowing as potential methods for regenerating impacted areas. Their efforts to restore and preserve the wetlands rely on research-backed approaches and local involvement, and combining these two elements could drive success.

With a long history of wetland restoration and mitigation, Great Ecology has incorporated research driven approaches into projects like Hunter’s Point and San Dieguito Lagoon, where we have supported wetland restoration efforts. As part of our Chatfield Reservoir Mitigation Project, we helped permanently protect an historic cattle ranch that still had remnant mixed grass prairie thanks to sustainable grazing practices as well as valuable riparian areas that help buffer Colorado against the effects of wildfire. Through these projects, and projects like these, Great Ecology works to restore wetlands and ecotones (the areas where two ecosystems meet), which supports biodiversity efforts.