Pantanal Wetlands

Pantanal Wetlands

Context: Fires ravage Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands. El Nino weather patterns, supercharged by climate change, are the possible factors behind the fires.

• The Pantanal is the world’s largest freshwater wetland.
• It is a low-altitude alluvial plain that is seasonally flooded and drained by the Paraguay River and its tributaries.
• Location: Located in the upper Paraguay River basin.
• It extends some 150,000 sq km through the heart of South America, crossing central-western Brazil, and spilling over the border into Bolivia and Paraguay. About 80 percent of the Pantanal is in Brazil.
• Major Habitat Type: Flooded Grassland Savanna
• The Pantanal is recognised as a World Heritage Site by the IUCN, a Ramsar Site of International Importance and an Important Bird Area.
• It is home to the world’s largest jaguar species as well as species like the endangered tapir and giant anteaters.