The Pantanal in Paraguay, Brazil and Bolivia is the largest wetland on Earth and a Noah's Ark of biodiversity. Its 42 million acres harbors at least 380 species of fish, 580 types of birds, over 2000 different plants. It is also the refuge for endangered and vulnerable species like the jaguar, giant river otters and hyacinth macaws. This natural wonderland could disappear if developers get their way with a project to dredge the Paraguay River, the wetland's main tributary into an industrial shipping channel for the transportation of crops. New ports would be built and the waterway' meanders straightened would cause irreparable damage to the wetland and the wildlife that depend on it. It is already suffering from extensive fires caused by prolonged droughts.
Construction materials are already arriving in villages along the planned route according to communal fishers and roads built leading to the new port facilities. The Paraguay-Paraan Hidrovia Industrial Waterway project has haunted the Pantanal for decades. It suffered critical technical evaluations of its original proposal, but the project did not die. The Andean Development Corporation funded new studies with nearly a million dollars. The new studies call for even more dredging and rock removal to insure passage of barges through 23 critical river passes. he ambitious project spanning five countries in the La Plata Basin has the support of the Inter-American Development Bank. A new strategy is also being employed to circumvent the objections of civil and conservation organizaions: piecemeal development. Last year the Brazilian government allotted $14 million for dredging, clearing of vegetation and adapting the navigable channel's signage, and two preliminary permits for two new port facilities.
The "kingdom of water", as it is sometimes called consists of more than 1200 rivers and streams that flood the plain in the wet season. Dredging will destroy this vital seasonal pattern by separating the river from its natural flood plain. Scientists now know that wetlands are vital to storing carbon, while only covering 5-8% of the Earth's surface, they store up to 30% of terrestrial carbon. The ribeirinhos,indigenous people of the river think the project will go ahead despite objections, and a new Brazilian president widely viewed as an advocate for nature and indigenous people. “Society does not want to hear us because then they can create whatever they want – dams, waterways, ports,” says one ribeirinha who has lived on the river all her life. "But I want the world to know that we are here–and that I will stay and fight for my life and for the Pantanal.” That is a fight that can give meaning to life.