The Paraguay-Paraná Hidrovia

Gwynn Lyons

As we know, the biodiversity of the Pantanal hinges on the plentiful sources of water that it holds for a large part of the year. As you may not know, however, the Paraguay-Paraná Hidrovia is a waterway that will run through- and significantly disrupt- the Pantanal if it is successfully completed. In this post, I will attempt to shed light on this development and explain how it would negatively impact the Pantanal's ecology.

The Hidrovia was first proposed in the 1980's by the governments of Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia, and Uruguay as a solution to the problem of commercial transportation among these five countries. The Hidrovia would allow landlocked countries to export their products to seaside countries, benefitting the economies of all parties involved. Specifically, it would involve deepening the shallow river channels to 2.8 meters, allowing larger barges to pass through.

At first, the problems with this plans did not manifest themselves. Then, in 1997, a panel of experts analyzed the effects of the proposed plan on the Pantanal. They saw that lowering the level of the Paraguay River by only 25 cm, a side effect of creating the Hidrovia, would cause a reduction of the flooded area of the Pantanal by 22%. That's about two to three times the area of the Everglades! In addition, the decreased velocity of the river water, another by-product of the Hidrovia, would increase the accumulation of sediment and decrease water quality. This effect could be grave for people who depend on the Pantanal for drinking water.

The construction of the Hidrovia could also negatively affect the indigenous people of the Pantanal. These inhabitants would likely be unable to get the government to recognize their territorial rights, a step that would be necessary when entrepreneurs and land speculators arrive to capitalize on the economic promise of the area. Eventually, the indigenous people would be displaced by the economically-motivated developments near the Pantanal. This phenomenon- the exile of native people by opportunistic newcomers- has already happened many times throughout history, and it would be unfortunate if it happened again here.

Currently, the decision about whether to go through with the construction of the Hidrovia is pending. I hope that the governments that are responsible for making this decision weigh the ecological and cultural effects heavily against the economic gains so that we don't lose an area whose biodiversity and inhabitants are unique and irreplaceable.

More information can be found here.