The Pantanal covers over 43.5 million acres across west-central Brazil, eastern Bolivia and Paraguay. It is the world’s largest wetland, 20 times larger than the Florida Everglades, and harbors extraordinary biodiversity. Although significant portions of the Pantanal remain relatively pristine, only 4.6% is currently protected, and competing interests for land impede opportunities to conserve large-scale wilderness areas.

Human impact is rapidly taking its toll, with the area under increasing pressure for agricultural conversion. The Pantanal has also lost approximately 30% of its water volume in recent years due to overuse of water upstream, climate change, and fluctuations in rainfall. A drying trend is negatively impacting wildlife and human communities and resulting in unusually early and intense fires in the wetland that are shattering historical records.

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.

We must move quickly to protect biodiversity while the political climate in Brazil is amenable. The Pantanal has become the second-most popular tourism site in South America after the Galapagos. To protect a critical wildlife corridor connecting the northern and southern Pantanal—the area most widely known and visited by tourists—Rainforest Trust is collaborating with the Mato Grosso do Sul state’s Environment Agency, Onçafri—our local partner, other stakeholders, and a global alliance of funders to establish the new 326,179-acre Taquari Wetlands State Park. The project will support a new fire-response team, which is urgently needed.

Header photo: Fires burn in the Pantanal near the project site, courtesy of Onçafari

Safeguard Imperiled Species in a Wetland Like No Other

About 3,500 plant species, 656 bird species, 325 fish species, 159 mammal species, 53 amphibian species, and 98 reptile species are found in the Pantanal. It is home to the most dense population of Jaguars in the world, and this apex predator shapes the entire ecosystem. The wetland is an important refuge for Giant Otters with the population estimated by scientists at an astounding 4,000 individuals or more. Expanses of intact habitat, particularly along river corridors, are vital for these wide-ranging animals as well as for Bush Dog, Marsh Deer, the largest deer in South America, and Giant Armadillo.

Hundreds of bird species depend on the Pantanal as a critical stopover site as they migrate to and from North America. Threatened birds living within the proposed park include the Hyacinth Macaw (the largest parrot on Earth) and Chestnut-bellied Guan. It is also home to Osprey and the renowned Jabiru, a large stork.

Prevent Further Alteration of this Spectacular Landscape

An absence of conservation measures and government presence has allowed overfishing, illegal hunting, bushfires, and uncontrolled occupation and deforestation to become urgent threats. Once the Taquari Wetlands State Park is established, only activities related to research, management, and eco-tourism will be permitted. Commercial exploitation, including mining, will be prohibited.

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