Assuring the Future of the Gran Pantanal and its people

Experience has shown in various places that the advance of unsustainable agriculture, mining, and ill-planned infrastructure development lead to the destruction of natural resources. This further exacerbates the unbalanced distribution of costs and benefits among stakeholders as it leads to a concentration of wealth among small groups and impoverishment of vast sections of the population which are being deprived of the basis of their livelihoods, i.e. the rich ecosystems of the region, especially wetlands and forests.The proposed project consists of follow-up activities to the Nature and Poverty Program in the Paraguayan part of the Pantanal. It builds on progress made on law revision and development, participation of local and indigenous communities in planning and self-development processes and the promotion of pro-poor and pro-conservation approaches to the development of the Paraguayan Pantanal. It aims at contributing to the creation of conditions that will enable maintenance and sustainable use of this major, extensive freshwater wetland area so that it provides a variety of sustainable income sources to local communities who depend on the resources of the Pantanal for their livelihoods. Specific objectives are: 1) To enhance the livelihoods of the rural poor (local communities and indigenous people) through their involvement in the development of sustainable policies for the Pantanal and capacity building; 2) To build a network of actors and establish partnerships with other organizations, governments, business and local communities to promote a sustainable, pro-poor development and the protection of the integrity of ecosystems; 3) To link up local poverty and environmental problems with national development policy issues in order to influence processes of change, and promote the visibility and recognition of development policies and initiatives with low environ. and social impactand 4) To engage in fund raising activities in order to ensure continuation of the work in the Pantanal after 2010.