The whole Pantanal, not just the half
The Pantanal, in the heart of South-America, on the border of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, is the largest freshwater wetland in the world and has an extremely rich biodiversity. The local population lives mainly from fishing and tourism. The Pantanal has a water managing function for an area stretching even to the La Plata area in Argentina, some 1,500 kilometers away.
For more than 20 years, Both ENDS has been supporting local organisations in the Pantanal fighting for the sustainable management of this beautiful area. One of the threats to the Pantanal is the soybean production in and around the area. The adjustments of the Paraguay - Paraná river for the cheap transportation of commodities for export, is – again - high on the agenda. This will make soy production in the Pantanal even more attractive.
‘The whole Pantanal, not just the half' was recently published to bring the current developments into the picture. It was produced with the support of the Ecosystem Alliance, collaboration between Both ENDS, IUCN NL and Wetlands International. The purpose of the publication is twofold. On the one hand, local organisations use it to enter into an informed dialogue in the region. On the other hand, we ask policy makers and companies in Netherlands and Europe, who have committed themselves to make the soy chain more sustainable, to take into account the developments in the Pantanal. Europe and the Netherlands should commit to not buying any soy produced in the Pantanal. Similar agreements already exist regarding soy from other fragile areas, such as the Amazon region.
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The whole Pantanal, not just the half
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