Water Issues in Brazil: Belo Monte Dam

The Belo Monte Dam currently under construction on the Xingu River in the state of Para. The Xingu is part of the Amazon Basin and is important for many indigenous groups. For years, the government has been wanting to build this dam, and it is now currently about half-way finished. However, this dam was built by ignoring the rights of indigenous groups, and refused to consult them in the project. While this is happening in the northern state of Brazil, it illustrates that water and development of natural resources are a hot button issue for Brazil. Does the government have the right to remove these indigenous groups for the sake of progress, when this river has been important for their culture and way of life for hundreds of years? I came across this advocacy video created by Amazon Watch, a non-profit based in San Francisco. I found it very

interesting because it contrasted clips of President, Dilma Rousseff, giving a speech on the importance of protecting the environment with the opinions of the indigenous groups. 

-Catie 

Wetlands conservation closer to home

Hi all,

I wanted to share this link to an initiative by the organisation Save the Bay, to get local funding for restoration of wetlands around the San Francisco Bay that support a fantastic amount of birdlife. I encourage you to sign the petition, and if you haven't already, to make a trip out to the Palo Alto Baylands to see the birds that populate our own wetlands. Maybe that's a good destination for us to head out as a group one Saturday or Sunday and have a go at some photography?

https://www.savesfbay.org/secure/forthebirds?ms=EML_FTB_ForTheBirds

Emma

More about the PCER

Hey everyone!

I thought I would write a blog post this week about the Pantanal Center for Education and Research, which we heard about a long time ago from Ethan, but haven't really talked about much in class since then. As part of my planning for this summer, I reached out to Ethan and talked with him a bit about what PCER does and thought it was super cool and worth sharing with everyone a bit more.

The goals of PCER encompass two major categories: social programs for the surrounding rural communities of the Pantanal and research opportunities for scientists and engineers in a variety of disciplines who would otherwise have a very hard time conducting research in this remote region. 

On the social end of things, PCER is mainly focused on education efforts in a variety of subjects for locals in the region. English classes, public primary schooling, and courses on public health and emergency readiness area all organized by PCER. In addition to this substantial educational outreach mission, PCER also offers limited medical services in a small clinic that physicians periodically come to for appointments with pantaneiros. Through these efforts, PCER is dedicated to making a significant positive impact on the community of the Pantanal.

Another aspect of the work done by PCER is the facilitation of outside research, engineering and study through the center. In my discussions with Ethan over email he explained to me that an individual traveler/tourist in the Pantanal will end up paying around $250 /day because getting around in this undeveloped area can be very expensive and difficult. With this is mind, PCER provides outside researchers (and as we heard in class, student groups from University of Michigan) a variety of services to enable them to function in the Pantanal without paying this enormous cost. For around $350 a week the PCER will provide a visiting researcher or engineer with transportation, food, lodging, and even some guide or translational services in the area. The aim here is to allow more research to be done towards the enrichment and further understanding of this world-class wetland region so that improved stewardship and management might be achieved in the future. 

One of the big projects that PCER has been working on recently is a campaign to distribute sustainable technologies to communities in and around the Pantanal. Along with organizing for the distribution of new equipment such as bio-sand water filters, small wind turbines, and bio-digesters, teams of engineers and volunteers will help install these devices and hold workshops to teach locals how to use them and why they are important and useful. This project represents an awesome way to enrich and aid the rural communities while also helping to sustain the rich and beautiful ecosystem that they live within. 

If you are interested in learning more about the PCER, you can read more about all this on their website at: http://www.pantanalcer.org/home or you can email Ethan. He was super helpful and responsive to me, and I'm sure he would love to talk to anyone else as well!

Cole SC

More on the Feral Pig: How an Invasive Species is Preserving Pantanal Biodiversity

As Matt mentioned about a month ago, the Feral Pig is a rare example of an invasive species that isn't out-competing local occupants for resources. The introduced Feral Pig and the native peccary occupy different niches, allowing them to coexist in the Pantanal.

However, more than not threatening local species, Feral Pigs are helping to preserve biodiversity in the Pantanal. Before the introduction of the Feral Pig, hunting bush meat was a major threat to the Pantanal's native species. The introduction of these pigs allowed for the recovery of many species since the Panataneiros actually prefer hunting Feral Pigs due to their reliable source of protein, oil, and fat.

The Feral Pig population maintains regulated as a result of local intervention and natural pressure. Young pigs are often separated from their mothers when they are being chased by hunters, leading to high mortality rates for juvenile Feral Pigs. Additionally, hunters have taken to castrating young males and then releasing them into the wild where they will mature but not increase the Feral Pig population. Feral Pigs are also severely affected by flooding in the Pantanal since it decreases their availability of resources. All of these interactions ensure that the Feral Pig population doesn't increase to the point where it becomes detrimental to the Pantanal's native species.

The introduction of the Feral Pig is an example of human intervention that resulted in a win-win situation for both the Pantaneiros and the Pantanal's biodiversity.

~ Megan Good

Sources:
http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0506-santana-invasive-pigs.html

Wishful Thinking

My summer plans changed this past weekend, so now I’m able to travel around South America after our three weeks in the Pantanal! With a two-week trip in the works, I’m putting together a wish list of all the places I want to go and keeping in mind travel tips and visa requirements along the way. I thought I’d share with the class some of the places I want to hit up and start a conversation of wish lists and travel tips to benefit us all!

 Rio de Janeiro

The only thing I know about Rio is that it’s the city beneath the Statue of Christ and I’m not really one for cities – but my travel companion is relentless and Rio has not become a requirement for his participation. He really wants to see a futbol game, so that’s something we’re looking into. And it’d be nice to soak up a little sun at Copacabana… a place I have admittedly only heard about through the occasional rap song.

Machu Picchu

I don’t know what it is, but I’ve always been fascinated with Machu Picchu. When I graduated from high school, I really tried to convince my parents to fund a trip to Peru for my two sisters and me so that we could see the Incan ruins, but they weren’t too fond of the idea and it never gained traction. But now that I’ll be in South America, I will never forgive myself for leaving without venturing to that mountaintop. 

 Patagonia

I don’t know much about Patagonia except that it’s a beautiful slice of nature. A little research shared that the region boasts penguin encounters, hikes, kayaking, ice trekking, and even the occasional puma spotting! Apparently the best time to go is November-April... so not when we'll be there, unfortunately.

I know I won’t get to see everything on my wish list, but maybe between the fifteen of us, we can fulfill as much of our South America wish lists as possible. What's on your wish list for the Pantanal? To capture the perfect picture of a capybara? To spot a jaguar along the river banks? To ride a horse at sunrise? To add fifteen birds to your life list? I want to hear it all!

Fire at Arena Pantanal

Arena Pantanal is one of the sites in Brazil that will host the FIFA World Cup this summer. However, a fire, whose extensive effects have recently been revealed, threatens this possibility.

On October 25, 2013, the Arena experienced a fire. However, it was not until the Public Ministry released a report in December that the extent of the damage was apparent. Photos show cracks in the concrete pillars, decomposition of the concrete ceiling above the fire, and damage to the stadium's steel frame. Yet Brazilian officials did not acknowledge the report until now. Mato Grosso officials insist that the fire did not cause structural damage. And even more curious, FIFA was "unaware" that the damage.


Photo evidence of the damage at Arena Pantanal.

As to the cause of the fire, police suspect arson. They suspect that a disgruntled construction worker was responsible for this crime. Fortunately, local engineers believe that the damage is "fixable." Still, the failure of the Brazilian government to recognize the extent of the damage calls into question its ability to deal with the influx of 600,000 foreign visitors this summer. Only time will tell if it will be sufficiently prepared to host the World Cup by July.

-Gwynn Lyons

Spectacled Owl

Hanging on my wall at home, there is a photograph of a Spectacled Owl that I took while at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh (My sister is obsessed with owls so she she insisted that we put the picture up). Until I started researching the fauna of the Pantanal, I had no idea that the Spectacled Owl was from Brazil let alone the fact that I might get to see one in the wild over the summer.

As you can see from the video above, Spectacled Owls are rather gawky birds. Its range extends from Southern Mexico South to the Chilean Andes and east to the Atlantic coast of Brazil. It is commonly kept at zoos and aviaries (like where I saw one), but, in the wild, it is reclusive and rarely seen. However, it does have a distinctive pulsating, hooting call that differentiates it from most other species of owls in the area. In the Andes region, however, the Band-bellied Owl, a member of the same genus, has a very similar call. One can most easily distinguish between the species based on their location; the Band-bellied Owl prefers lower elevations in the Andes.

The Spectacled Owl is nocturnal. At night, it forages for small to medium-sized prey, which may include opossums, skunks, rabbits, and other smaller vertebrates that inhabit the lowland tropical forest the owl prefers.

Sources:
http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=209656
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Pulsatrix_perspicillata/