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The Nature Conservancy in Africa - Conservation in Africa

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The Nature Conservancy in the Caribbean - Conservation in the Caribbean

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The Nature Conservancy in South America - Conservation in South America

Protecting the Cerrado

Life Sustaining Waters

The interplay that exists in the Pantanal between land and water makes preserving this floodplain essential. By following the path of water as it flows through the Pantanal and into the Paraguay River, scientists will test how conservation actions on land affect the diversity of life found in the region’s freshwater habitats—information essential to the conservation of great rivers around the world.

“The Pantanal does not exist without its floodwaters. If we want to protect it, we must trace the water back to its source and make sure that land is conserved,” said Glauco Freitas, an ecologist with the Conservancy.

In fact, if we trace these waters to their source, we arrive upland, at the Cerrado, a region that is home to one of the world’s most biologically rich savannas. Despite this natural abundance, the Cerrado is one of the greatest threats to these freshwater habitats, mostly because ranchers and farmers are transforming this grassland for agricultural use.

Today, after three intensive decades of land conversion, about 65 percent of the Cerrado is being farmed or ranched. Muddy waters carry off topsoil laden with chemicals and nutrients; changes to the Cerrado can be tracked downstream in freshwater habitats.

Taking Action

Scientists tell us conservation actions in the Cerrado need to be strategic to protect the Pantanal and the Paraguay River. Existing natural areas must be connected and wooded areas along waterways—called riparian zones—should be preserved. To achieve this goal, the Conservancy is working to enhance several Brazilian programs identified as critical for conservation success.

One of these is the grassland exchange, based on the legal obligation that private landowners must preserve 20 percent of their land in Cerrado areas. Conservationists cite two problems with this program:

  • Farmers aren’t given guidance on which lands to protect, meaning some protected lands have little or no ecological value, while other more valuable lands are destroyed.
  • The program is expensive to enforce, making compliance a challenge. Because of this, many farmers have ignored this rule.

Conservancy staff are helping the federal and state governments create a new monitoring system that relies on satellite imagery— not human labor—to inspect these farms. Officials will receive snapshots of Cerrado farms, which will make enforcement easier. The next step in working with the grassland exchange program is to use a blueprint of biologically important places to drive conservation. Farmers will be encouraged to set aside lands important to improving water quality. There also are plans to modify the program, allowing lands to be protected where it makes the most sense ecologically.

Sunset at Emas National Park

Sunrise at Emas National Park, Brazil. © Scott Warren.

 

Quick Links

Explore the ways that the Conservancy and its partners are working to protect the Cerrado.

 

Monitoring the Cerrado

Monitoring water quality on the Formosa River in Emas National Park. © Scott Warren.