The Pantanal and The World Bank

When considering the Pantanal for environmental management and projects it's interesting to note that you also must also consider parts that extend into Mato Grosso and
portions of Bolivia and Paraguay. Brazil has three river basins (the Amazon,
Tocantins, and São Francisco), and two basin complexes, the Plata River which
has three Brazilian sub-basins (Paraná, Upper Paraguay, and Uruguay), and the
remaining rivers flowing into the Atlantic which are divided into several
basins. The Pantanal is located in the heart of the South American continent
and is part of the vast upper Paraguay River basin.
 

Some of the main problems that the Pantanal faces currently:

(1) burning and ther deforestations of the watershed, (2) exploitation of fauna by poaching
and overfishing, (3) discharge of untreated, urban waste, particularly in the
state of Mato Grosso, (4) contamination from agrochemicals, (5) discharge of
chemical pollutants, such as mercury through mining operations, (6) poorly
planned road construction, and (7) local dam and dike construction.
 

The WORLD BANK
is one of the many organizations that has established initiatives to help
preserve the Pantanal ,as it becomes more and more well known internationally.
As part of a major reorganization in 1987, the Bank established a central
Environment Department as well as Environment Divisions in each of the six
operational regions. However, most of these early initiatives were attached to
something closely related to the Amazon as well. The World Bank doesn't work
alone, many of their projects are supported by The Waterland Research
Institute, international government officials, the three major government
stakeholders, and officials from the United Nations.

1)  PCBAP Upper Paraguay River Basin Conservation Plan

Additionally, the overall Project performance, was given the impressive rating of 1.33. The
project has benefited from several relevant research activities in the region
such as the US$165 million IDB Pantanal Project and the World Bank Upper
Paraguay River Basin Conservation Plan (PCBAP). The World Bank financed the
Upper Paraguay River Basin Conservation Plan (PCBAP), which was a 1997 program
directed towards the root causes of degradation. (The PCBAP is a general
document that identifies the main problems and proposes various measures).
 

2) GASBOL

The Bolivia–Brazil pipeline (GASBOL) is the longest natural gas pipeline in South
America. The 3,150 kilometres (1,960 mi) pipeline connects Bolivia's gas
sources with the south-east regions of Brazil GASBOL has met
world-class environmental standards, such as the World Bank’s environmental and
social safeguards by using both conventional and innovative practices. While by
no means without its challenges, the Project’s current status has been achieved
through flexible and adaptive methods, the results of which have been
recognized by its having received the World Bank’s Green Award, the
International Association of Impact Assessment’s Environmental Award (IAIA) in
2001. The Inter-American Development Bank helped finance this project as well. 

3) PRODEAGRO
Mato Grosso Natural Resources Development Project

In 2002-US$1,250,000 World Bank loans for PRODEAGRO and PROAGUA; two projects
focused on land degration. This meant that it focused on land and water management,
designed to protect and rehibilitate critical areas of a basin, as well as
advocated for environmentally sound practices within agriculture, mining, and
economic sectors.These actions complemented basin-scale interventions by the Government of Brazil, financed by national sources (such as ANA), those of international funding agencies (such as the IDB Pantanal Project) and sub-basin scale activities (such as the World Bank-UNDP PRODEAGRO program). A US funding platform of about $ 270,000 was financed by the World Bank and executed by UNDP with the objective of combating soil
loss and the development of sustainable agricultural practices for small
farmers in the state of Mato Grosso.

NATALYA THAKUR