Conservation Science and Practice in the Pantanal: From crisis to hope

Abstract

The Pantanal is the largest continuous freshwater wetland in the world (Junk et al., 2011). Located in central South America and encompassing 179,300 km², it includes parts of Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia. The Paraguay River—for which the Pantanal serves as a floodplain—stretches for 2695 km, connecting Brazil with Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina (Girard et al., 2025). The scale and magnitude of the Pantanal influence large parts of South America's hydrology, biodiversity, history, and culture (Wantzen et al., 2023). The Pantanal has also always been a refuge for endangered and threatened species and for low-intensive use of natural resources (Tomas et al., 2019). Recently, however, wildfires, deforestation, and infrastructure projects have increased conservation concerns (Tortato et al., 2022) (Figure 1). But with government, NGOs - Non-Governmental Organizations, local people, and scientists' support, the Pantanal can still be a place of conservation hope.

Permanent human occupation in the Pantanal dates back more than 8000 years (Bespalez, 2015), with the first signs of settlements in the northern Pantanal occurring approximately 27,000 years ago (Vialou et al., 2017). Although the first European colonizers arrived there in the early 16th century, it was not until the late 18th century that the Portuguese began to establish a structured colonizing agenda in the region (de Fátima Costa, 1999). During this time, most indigenous groups were replaced with (Peixoto, 2017), cattle ranches (de Abreu et al., 2010) and riverine fishing communities (Chiaravalloti, 2019). Today, cattle ranches occupy over 90% of the Pantanal (Chiaravalloti et al., 2025), with cattle stocks totaling approximately 3.8 million heads (Tomas et al., 2019). There are also around 8000 people registered as professional fishers in the region (Fernando, Lopes, et al., 2024), generating an estimated US$84 million per year (Girard et al., 2025), and probably 10 times that number are unreported “sporadic” fishermen (Fernando, Lopes, et al., 2024).

Despite long-standing, widespread human occupation and a violent history of colonization, the Pantanal continues to be well conserved, with >80% of its native vegetation standing (Mapbiomas, 2022). In addition, poaching represents a very low threat to native wildlife (Desbiez et al., 2011). As such, the Pantanal is a refuge for many threatened species, such as jaguar (Panthera onca), giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus), and hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) (Tomas et al., 2019). There are also no indications of overfishing (Fernando, Lopes, et al., 2024), as even areas of intensive use by local communities still show a relatively intact fish assemblage (Polaz et al., 2017).

However, as presented in this special issue, the Pantanal is experiencing rapid change. The largest and one of the most conserved wetlands in the world is becoming a place of conservation concern. One-third of ecological corridors in the Pantanal have already disappeared (da Rosa Oliveira et al., 2025) and should these trends continue, 14,000 km² of native vegetation could be lost by 2050 (Guerra et al., 2025). Compound effects of the expansion and construction of infrastructure projects are starting to cascade through the ecosystem and present increasing and serious threats to the region (Tortato et al., 2022). These developments appear bound to increase and accelerate. For example, proposals to transform the Paraguay River into a Hidrovia waterway by dredging, riverbank stabilization, course alteration, and port construction would severely disrupt the hydrology (Girard et al., 2025), causing the collapse of the flooding cycle and its benefits for vegetation or biodiversity, and ultimately leading to a widespread reduction in fish abundances and diversity (Fernando et al., 2025).

This special section also shows the pathway to change the current trend. The papers in this section show that the region and the local stakeholders have all the means to guarantee that the region continues to be a place of biodiversity conservation and sustainability: conservation hope. For example, as shown in Chiaravalloti et al. (2025) one cornerstone of the Pantanal's sustainable history has been its strong land tenure system with well-defined property rights, critical to the implementation of targeted and area-based conservation programs (Robinson et al., 2018). Similarly, the people and institutions of the Pantanal have traditionally had a strong legacy of cooperation and even interdependence, largely due to the need for mutual reliance on one another across a highly variable and seasonally unpredictable landscape (Marchini et al., 2024). For example, collective management schemes have always been part of the Pantanal's fishing and cattle ranching collaborative socio-ecological systems (Tomas et al., 2019). These integrative approaches, together with the clear land tenure system, could be a path for the development of several community-based, landscape, and species conservation initiatives. They include a polycentric system of governance across different parts of the Pantanal; biodiversity offsetting programs (Lourival et al., 2025), the cultivation of “other effective biodiversity conservation measures” (OECM), sustainable ranching certifications schemes (Chiaravalloti et al. 2025), natural capital indicator frameworks (NCIF) (Fairbrass et al., 2025), and species conservation programs based on coexistence and cooperation (Marchini et al., 2024).

To implement these actions, nonetheless, it is critical to establish some baseline conservation principles, which we also describe in the special issue; they are: (i) consideration of the Paraguay River Basin as a single management unit; (ii) the establishment of rules in alignment with a “restricted use” approach or concept; (iii) ensuring that all natural resources across the region are used sustainably; (iv) maintenance of environmental heterogeneity and ecological functionality across varying landscapes; (v) maintenance of the region's hydrological integrity and connectivity; (vi) ensuring the ecological representativeness of the protected areas network; (vii) the provision of economic incentives for conservation of the land; and (viii) recognition for and protection of traditional peoples, their values and resources, and their way of life (Tomas et al., 2025).

The Pantanal has been, for a long time, a showcase model for the coexistence of conservation and sustainable use. However, increasing economic pressures, climate change, infrastructure projects, and loss of traditional cultural knowledge are challenging its historical position. To regain its importance and position as a positive example in conservation, regional stakeholders, governments, and conservation practitioners have to create a foundation for a common sustainable future for the entire region.

This special section is the beginning of this process. The papers contained here contribute to our knowledge of how the system functions, how it is impacted by and responds to human activities, and to the development of effective management strategies to support a concurred sustainability agenda for the Pantanal. We invite everyone to keep contributing to this effort.

All the authors contributed to the editorial article, reviewing, and discussing key points.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.