Dialogues to make a pact for the restoration of the Pantanal

Abstract

This study resulted from the dialogue between collective social actors on the need to make a Pact for the Restoration of the Pantanal biome. The Gaia Institute convened local, state, national and international partners to socialize the concern about the violent and accelerated degradation that the Pantanal biome had been suffering. That was a conjuncture of drought, fires, port projects, waterway, small hydroelectric power plants, and the advances in agribusiness in the surroundings and in the basins of the rivers that form the largest wetland in the world. Twenty years earlier, the Pantanal had been declared a biosphere reserve, a natural heritage of humanity in the care of Brazilian, Bolivian and Paraguayan societies, in addition to having 4 Ramsar sites. The idea for this pact was inspired by other successful experiences in restoring biomes, such as the Atlantic Forest, and local initiatives in Brazil. The experiences provided concepts, knowledge, methods, techniques, and practices as inspiring references for this new pact under construction. As a source of interpretation, we used the participants’ reports, which were transcribed and analyzed in the SWOT matrix. The result was a tacit agreement among the participants to commit to the restoration of the Pantanal biome.