Involving People in Science and Sustainability in the Pantanal Wetlands of Brazil - Restorative Redevelopment of Devastated Ecocultural Landscapes - page 202

One of these conservation research initiatives takes place in the Pantanal, which
at a size of over 200,000 km 2 is the world's largest freshwater wetland ecosystem (see
also chapter 10). The principal threats to the Pantanal are threefold:

• Drainage projects, which would channelize and remove a significant amount

of water from the watershed

• Cattle ranching, which has become intensified, resulting in the fragmenta-

tion of the landscape surrounding the wetlands

• Agriculture, with the area now becoming the world's largest producer of

soy, and the consequent pollution due to uncontrolled release of sediments
and nutrients

Earth Watch formed a partnership with Conservation International and ran a series
of workshops which identified a number of wildlife corridors and critical habitats
that needed protection. Work began in a single location, and efforts have now been
expanded to five other areas throughout the whole Pantanal in order to corroborate
the original baseline information gathering. But the key lesson in this example that
is very applicable to the evolving situation in Iraq is Earth Watch's use of partners to
identify the research priorities and how the research will be subsequently used in the
management plan (Chandler 2004).
The Pantanal conservation research initiative has been running since 2000 as
nine multidisciplinary, simultaneous projects in which the researchers share infor-
mation and learn from one another. Volunteers have repeatedly returned to par-
ticipate in different projects involving a whole range of issues related to wetland
ecology, fisheries and wildlife management, and wildlife disease control. In terms
of capacity building, a large number of young Brazilian scientists have been sup-
ported in this initiative with a program of mentoring and support from experienced
American researchers. Annually, Earth Watch places over two hundred volunteers
in the Pantanal, half of whom are paying people who have selected the location and
one of its projects as the destination for their working holiday, and half of whom—
teachers, corporate members, and people from the local community—whose trans-
portation and participation are paid through fundraising by Earth Watch (Chandler
2004). From this fundraising, Earth Watch is able to provide about a quarter of a
million dollars in grants to the scientists to help them do the field research, as well
as contributing directly to the local economy through food and accommodations. In
this respect, there is a direct financial gain through this model as well (see chapter 16
for another approach linking ecology and economy).
One of the characteristic aspects of all natural systems, in particular wetlands,
is their integration. Earth Watch capitalized on this idea in the Pantanal by sup-
porting multiple projects that all feed into one another, in a way reminiscent of
Cunningham's (see chapter 3) clarion call for the need to integrate across sectors
and think more broadly about how we approach ecological restoration. Money is
used to target those individuals (teachers, students, conservation professionals, any-
one involved in environmental management, and corporate employees) who have
a greater effect, or “multiplier effect,” in terms of getting things done (Chandler
2004). Corporations, for example, are solicited to not only support local engagement