SÃO PAULO, SP (FOLHAPRESS) – The Pantanal may cease to exist as we know it today. In the midst of record fires, the biome risks losing its peculiar biodiversity and the title of Natural Heritage of Humanity. This is stated in a letter by national and international environmental defense institutions.
The devastation caused by the fires, aggravated by climate change, was described in a document sent on Monday (19) to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). The letter, signed by Brazilian and international NGOs, demands emergency action and that the biome be included on the List of World Heritage in Danger, a special preservation program.
The letter also highlights that “insufficient public policies, relaxation of environmental laws and incipient oversight” contributed to the rapid degradation of the biome, with serious impacts on carbon storage and the preservation of biodiversity, culture and livelihoods. of indigenous peoples.
Among the Brazilian institutions that signed the letter are the SOS Pantanal Institute and the Onçafari Association. They addressed the communication to the director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the Cameroonian architect Lazare Eloundou Assomo, and the director of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) World Heritage Programme, the British geologist Tim Badman.
If included in UNESCO’s special preservation programme, the wetland could receive immediate assistance from the World Heritage Fund, allocated by a specialized committee.
In 2024, the biome faces the worst drought in 70 years. This situation predicts even more serious losses than those recorded during the fires and drought recorded in 2020, when the region suffered its greatest devastation, says SOS Pantanal.
In July of this year, during a ceremony held in New Delhi, India, UNESCO recognized the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park as Brazil’s new Natural World Heritage Site. This was the first time in 23 years that the country managed to add a new location to the list.
In total, Brazil today has 24 World Heritage titles: 15 of them cultural, 8 natural and 1 mixed. In addition to the Lençóis Maranhenses and the Pantanal Conservation Area, UNESCO has already recognized other Brazilian attractions as Natural Heritage of Humanity. They are:
Central Amazon Conservation Complex (AM)
Southeast Atlantic Forest Reserves (PR/SP)
Protected Areas of the Cerrado (GO)
Iguazú National Park (PR)
Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves (BA/ES)
Brazilian Atlantic Islands (PE/RN)
