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Pantanal wetland
Context:
Brazil’s Pantanal wetland is experiencing unprecedented fires in June, setting a new record for this month.
More on News:
- Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research (INPE) has recorded 733 fires in the Pantanal this month, surpassing the previous June record of 435 fires in 2005.
- It reports an 898% increase in fires compared to the same period in 2023, signalling a potential catastrophe.
- The state of Mato Grosso do Sul, covering 60% of Pantanal, faces a “danger” warning due to an anticipated heat wave, expected to bring temperatures 5ºC above average.
Pantanal Wetland:
- Location: It is a floodplain in south-central Brazil, extending into northeast Paraguay and southeast Bolivia.
- Primarily located within the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso.
- Major Habitat Type: Flooded Grassland Savanna.
- It is the world’s largest freshwater wetland, a seasonally flooded plain fed by the tributaries of the Paraguay River.
- In 2000, Pantanal Conservation Complex, which includes four protected areas, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage natural site.
- The Brazilian Constitution designates it as a National Heritage and a restricted-use region mandated with ecologically sustainable use.
- In 2000 a part of the wetland named Pantanal Conservation Area was included as UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
- It comprises about 3% of the entire world’s wetlands.
- Around 95% of the Pantanal is under private ownership.
- It has the largest concentration of crocodiles in the world, with approximately 10 million caimans.
- It also has one of the highest jaguar densities in the world.
- Deforestation in the Pantanal is increasing, with more than 12% of the forest cover already lost.
- At the current rate, the Pantanal’s native vegetation will disappear by 2050 if no measures are taken to combat this trend.