International Union for Conservation of Nature: Red List Overview

In class on Thursday after my presentation I know there were some questions in regards to the different endangerment classifications.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the foremost authority on the conservation status of species. They evaluate data which allows them to assess a species' risk of extinction and then publish their findings on "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species."

Most animals are classified as one of the following seven categories:


Least Concern (LC): "in terms of extinction risk, these species are of lesser concern than species in other threat categories" (IUCN Species Survival Commission). 

Near Threatened (NT): "is close to qualifying for or is likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future."

Vulnerable (VU): "considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild."

Endangered (EN): "considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild."

Critically Endangered (CR): "considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild."

Extinct in the Wild (EW): after exhaustive surveys "is known only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalized population."

Extinct (EX): after exhaustive surveys "there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died."

Other taxa may be classified as Data Deficient (DD) or Not Evaluated (NE).

Here are the classifications for some of the animals we will see in the Pantanal:

Endangered (EN): Hyacinth Macaw

Vulnerable (VU): Giant Anteater; Tapir

Near Threatened (NT): Maned Wolf

Least Concern (LC): Capybara; Great Potoo; Toco Toucan; Crab-Eating Fox

(Many of the animals I tried searching have not yet been assessed by the IUCN but are classified on the Catalogue of Life, an "online database of the world's known species of animals, plants, fungi, and micro-organisms.")

~Megan Good
Sources:
http://jr.iucnredlist.org/documents/RedListGuidelines.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Status_iucn2.3.svg
http://www.iucnredlist.org/search
http://www.catalogueoflife.org

Safety in Brazil

Just as a follow up to Christina's post, I thought I'd do a little blurb on safety in traveling in Brazil. Christina, your post definitely got me thinking about potentially staying in Brazil for a bit after our trip and exploring some of the more "touristy" areas. However, I've often heard that Brazil is not safe, especially to travel in and wanted to read up about safety concerns. Thousands of people travel to Brazil each year, so it really is just about staying safe and smart! Rio, for example, has definitely improved in terms of safety - the homicide rate has been reduced by half since 2005. However, there are still many thefts, pickpocketings, armed assaults, and car robberies in the cities, so we'd definitely have to be careful while traveling. As expected, recommendations include traveling discretely, not wearing or carrying anything of great value, and familiarizing yourself with the area you are going to be exploring. Basically, planning ahead will make everything safer and more enjoyable :)

I also thought that it's interesting to think about whether the World Cup will affect safety conditions in Brazil and whether Brazil can deliver on achieving fan safety before and after. The 12 World Cup host cities actually have much more surveillance and integrated command centers with police and military personnel as well (Cuiabá and Rio are two of these cities). I'm not sure how much this will affect those who are planning to travel afterwards.  In any case, for all of our adventurous travelers, it is probably best to over-plan what you want to do in Brazil and be safe :) 

- Nicole

The Piping Guan

Since no one did the Piping Guan for their organism, and since it sounds like an interesting animal, I did some research on it.

The Piping Guan looks like this:

It is found in Central and South America, hence its presence in the Pantanal. This bird usually measures between 60 and 69 cm and weighs between 1.2 and 1.35 kg. Its unique coloring includes a cobalt blue wattle, blue to white facial skin, and greenish blue plumage with bluish tints. As you can see from the picture above, it resembles a turkey. 

Like turkeys, Piping Guans are mostly sedentary, flying only to move up trees or down rivers in search of food. When they do fly, their wings make a whirring noise. Their call sounds like piping, which is how they got their name. 

The Piping Guan likes to live in humid, semi-deciduous forests and woodlands in the tropical zone. In Brazil, we are most likely to see them near water since they like to be within 100 meters of the river. They feed primarily on nuts and fruit, but also have been known to eat snails and even to visit salt licks.

In the grand scheme of conservation, the Piping Guan is not significantly endangered. Still, it is considered vulnerable in French Guiana, Trinidad, Columbia, Venezuela, and the Amazon. This is because they are hunted for food and are impacted by anthropogenic changes in the environment. I really hope that their populations are thriving in the Pantanal and that we will be able to see some there!

-Gwynn Lyons

Indigenous- Government Relations in Pantanal

Hello everyone!
So first off, as I promised, here is the link to the full documentary about the land claim conflicts between the Indigenous Tribes of the Pantanal and the Fazenda owners. This documentary shows both sides of the conflict, and even though it is in Portuguese you should be able to understand most of what is happening. 

Terra Sagrada Documentary

Also I was thinking about the questions you guys asked about the rights of indigenous people in the Pantanal and any government benefits they may receive. So I was inspired to look more into this topic and this post will be a follow-up to some of the topics brought up by your questions. 

Looking at the big picture the indigenous tribes in Brazil do qualify for all the wonderful benefits offered by the Brazilian Government, healthcare, education, ect. However the actual delivery of these resources is another issue. Many of these tribes dont speak Portuguese  they still speak their native language. In addition many of the tribes are very isolated or far away from cities on the land the government allocated for them. I would imagine that it would be rare to find a government health clinic on their lands since they are often far removed from urban centers. 

So the technical answer is yes, these tribes have option to seek out these government services. But are these services accessible by the indigenous peoples? Based on what I have read, definitely not. 

The branch of the Brazilian government today that is responsible for maintaining the rights of the indigenous peoples is called FUNAI, National Indian Foundation. Their job is to ensure their rights as outlined in the Brazilian constitution and Indian Statute are being respected. Before FUNAI existed the Indian Protection Service (SPI) was the main government branch concerning the indigenous peoples. The mission of this department was to try to integrate the indigenous tribe into mainstream life to eliminate cultural diversity and freeing up their land for the government to allocate to farming or mining. 

So I hope this answered some more questions you may have had. Overall the relations between the government and the indigenous tribes are pretty bad, and mirror that in many other countries in the Americas. 

-Martell 

Sources: http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/amazon/about_the_amazon/people_amazon/indigenous_brazil/

http://www.survivalinternational.org/about/funai

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

 

 

 

 

WWF Pantanal Program

Did you know that since 1998, WWF has been involved in the pantanal with the objectives to curtail climate change, create sustainable cattle farming, improve land use planning, and encourage corporate and social environmental responsibilities.

According the the WWF, the hope to achieve this by: 

Regarding climate change: WWF is  working on "systematizing existing information and making it available to key stakeholders working on climate change."

 Having this information organized will also allow identifying where research still needs to be carried out, as well as designing strategies that reduce the vulnerability of the watershed in the face of climate change.

Regarding cattle ranching: "Sustainable cattle ranching activities in the Pantanal consistently link environmental protection with economic development in the region. In addition, it reinforces productive practices and traditional cultural values that in turn reinforce the Pantanal’s identity and become a real opportunity to make the economic interests of cattle ranching compatible with conservation." 

In addition, WWF hopes to contribute towards the design and implementation of Municipal Plans on Land Use Regulation for local Pantanal Municipalities. 
-Enrique 

Geology of the Pantanal

To the North and East of the Pantanal lies the Central Brazilian shield, one of the oldest continental land masses on Earth. To the West lies the Andes mountains, a much more recent formation. Before the Andes, the Pantanal existed for a long time at the edge of the South American continent, as a coastal plain that was formed by the erosion of material from high parts of the Central Brazilian shield to lower parts. Then with the subduction of the Pacific plate underneath South America, the Andes formed and the Paraná Basin (containing the Pantanal) became a low point between two higher mountainous regions of igneous formation. The top several hundred meters of the Pantanal are sedimentary deposits carried down from the surrounding mountains over millions of years.

In recent geologic history, the Pantanal has undergone many changes; before the seasonal wetland it was today, the region used to be a desert, and before that, people have hypothesized that it was an inland brackish lagoon draining into the Pacific Ocean. 

-Palani