Study reveals greatest impacts of deforestation in the highest regions of the Brazilian Upper Paraguay River basin

By Geralda Magela
WWF-Brasil

The diagnostic study undertaken by a group of NGOs active in the Pantanal that includes WWF-Brasil shows that compared to other Brazilian biomes like the Atlantic Forest formations, the Pantanal is relatively well-conserved although it is very vulnerable especially to impacts occurring tin the highland regions of the Upper Paraguay River basin. While the lower floodplain region has 86.6% of its natural vegetation cover intact, only 43.5% of the highland plateau areas have their original vegetation.

The diagnosis entitled “Monitoring Alterations in Vegetation and Land Use in the Brazilian Portion of the Upper Paraguay River Basin’ launched this Wednesday 26th in Campo Grande (MS) was carried out by the nongovernmental organisations Ecoa-Ecologia e Ação, Conservation International, Avina Foundation, SOS Pantanal and WWF-Brasil and received technical support from Embrapa Pantanal. The purpose of the study was to make a detailed analysis of changes in vegetation patterns and land use that took place in the period from 2002 to 2008.

The initial base for the study was data produced by the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment’s Programme for the Sustainable Use of Brazilian Biological Diversity –PROBIO. The work involved the analysis of existing maps and new satellite images. Technical staff made field trips to gather data, interviewed experts with specialised information on the area and compared field information with the satellite images.

The results show that the lower floodplain region where the Pantanal itself is located is well preserved and still retains 86.6% of its natural vegetation cover. The situation is very different however in the upper reaches of the river basin where only 41.8% of the natural vegetation is still intact. The study also registered a higher rate of deforestation in the highland areas of the basin. From 2002 to 2008, in the Brazilian portion of the Upper Paraguay basin, the highland areas registered a loss of 4% of natural vegetation cover compared to 2.4% in the lowland floodplain.  

Conversion to pasture

The mapping process highlighted differences in the forms of land use between the highlands and the lowlands where the Pantanal is located. The highlands are marked by a the strong presence of agriculture and cattle farming while in the  floodplain the cattle raising activities are less intensive, more extensive, and create far less pressure on the natural vegetation.

Data for 2008 show that cattle raising is the most prevalent form of anthropic (human) land use and accounts for 11.1% of the area under anthropic use in the floodplain and 43.5% in the highland plateaus. Agriculture in the floodplain occupies a mere 0.3% of the area whereas in the highlands it occupies 9.9%.

Cycle of waters

The study underscores the importance of viewing the Pantanal in a river basin perspective and not just the most well-known part, the flooded region, in isolation.  That is because it is in the highland areas that the springs and headwaters of the rivers that feed the Pantanal are located. The environmental equilibrium and the ecological processes responsible for the Pantanal’s rich biodiversity are determined just as much by events, natural or otherwise, occurring in the highland regions as they are by those that take place in the lowland floodplain of the basin.

The water from the springs in the highest parts of the basin run down to the flooded lowland plain and that is why any impact on those headwater areas has consequences for the Pantanal. “It is the annual hydrological cycle, with water levels rising in one season and lowering in the dry season that makes the Pantanal such an important and unique biome, with one of the richest biodiversities in the world” declares WWF-Brasil’s CEO Denise Hamú. In Hamu’s view, understanding and respecting that cycle is essential for the conservation of the Pantanal  and the species that it is home to.

Management and monitoring tool

The map of vegetation cover is yet another tool to foster an understanding of the Pantanal and the relations between the highland plateaus and the lowland floodplain and to help governments to adopt measures to ensure the Pantanal’s conservation.

For the institutions involved, it represents an important element of support for conservation actions and for informing the dialogue with the production segment.  “Our objective is to discuss a sustainable model for the future of the Pantanal that will combine development with the protection of Nature” states Denise Hamú.

The study was presented to the Governator of Mato Grosso do Sul, André Puccinelli this Wednesday, 26th. The meeting had the participation of the coordinator of WWF-Brazil´s Pantanal Programme, Michael Becker and representative of the NGOs partners in the study. “We hope that this study can be used by the Government in order to adopt public politicians to preserve the highlands that are more threatened and also to give value and stimulate practices of low impact in the wetlands, like the organic cattle ranching”, stressed Becker.

The governator of Mato Grosso do Sul, one of the two Brazilian States where the Pantanal is located, said that the study will be very useful. “The data presented bring new elements, new information that will help us to improve our conservation projects”, said.

The database that has been built by this study will serve as a reference for future monitoring of vegetation cover and land use in the Upper Paraguay basin and can be revised and elaborated in greater detail to incorporate the criticisms and suggestions of the partner entities, each time a revision is made. The goal of the group of NGOs is to contribute towards a better understanding of the dynamics that occur in the region and that such understanding may be converted into actions to support the conservation and orderly and sustainable use of the region as a whole.

You can download the complete study usign the links on the right.