When the world’s largest wetland burns, the animals that live there burn as well.

Jaguars with burned paws. Hyacinth Macaw nests cooked by the heat before the chicks can fledge. Tapir and Marsh Deer and countless other wildlife suffering the effects of smoke inhalation.

The Pantanal is unlike anywhere else on Earth. This immense wetland covers more than 43.5 million acres across Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay—20 times larger than the Florida Everglades. It is also one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. More than 4,700 species of plants and animals live here, including one of the world’s largest and healthiest populations of Jaguars.

Right now, less than 5 percent of the Pantanal is protected. The vast majority of this irreplaceable landscape is vulnerable to deforestation and degradation for agriculture, the impacts of unregulated tourism and water use, and the devastation of wildfires like those that tore through the wetlands this year.

With your support, Rainforest Trust and our partner—Onçafari—will protect 326,179 acres to create the Taquari Wetlands State Park in Brazil. These acres will safeguard essential habitat for Caiman, Jaguars, Hyacinth Macaws, and hundreds of other species that rely upon the Pantanal for their survival.

In honor of Giving Tuesday, your generous gift will have four times the impact—giving your $50 donation the same impact as $200.

Video header:  Drone footage of wild fires in the Pantanal, courtesy of partner Onçafari.

The Pantanal—the world’s largest tropical wetland—is burning. We need your help to protect this magnificent ecosystem, home to extraordinary biodiversity. Drone footage of fires in the Pantanal, courtesy of our partner, Onçafari.