How Cattle Ranching Supports Conservation in the World's Largest Tropical Wetland
In Brazil’s Pantanal, sustainable ranching is an important tool in safeguarding one of South America’s most important landscapes
The world’s largest tropical wetland—Brazil’s Pantanal, home to jaguars, toucans, caiman, giant otters, marsh deer, and more—is undergoing a key transition. As part of this important shift, an increasing number of cattle ranchers in the region are adopting sustainable practices that will help their businesses continue to thrive while also preserving this region’s stunning—and vital—biodiversity.
Known as the Fazenda Pantaneira Sustentável (FPS), or Sustainable Pantanal Ranch, standard, this collection of sustainable practices—based on rigorous scientific study—showcases how technology, economic development, and sustainability can coexist, protecting native ecosystems and reducing the climate impacts of cattle ranching while helping to support the businesses’ success.
These are all key reasons why the Pontes Pantaneiras, or Pantanal Bridges, coalition—formed in 2022 and governed by Embrapa Pantanal, the Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPÊ), The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Smithsonian Institution, and University College London—promotes the FPS, an initiative created by the Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corp.
The FPS standard includes efforts such as hydrological monitoring to assess the impacts of climate change, restoration projects that allow degraded areas to recover from cattle grazing, and initiatives that make use of native resources and leverage artificial intelligence for monitoring and measuring progress. Launched in Mato Grosso, the FPS initiative has now expanded to ranches in Mato Grosso do Sul with support from Pontes Pantaneiras, which fosters cross-sector dialogue and promotes strategies for ensuring sustainable development, conserving biodiversity, and protecting Pantanal culture.
The transition to the FPS standard could prove momentous, because 95% of the land in the Pantanal is privately owned, and the vast majority of those holdings are cattle ranches—which are the main and largest economic driver for communities in the region. Cattle have been in the Pantanal for more than 300 years; and yet, today, over 80% of the native vegetation in the Pantanal remains intact, highlighting the importance—and the effectiveness—of responsible resource management.
Through scientific research and training, the FPS initiative has built a voluntary network of about 80 ranchers who share knowledge and strengthen their collective commitment, revealing success stories and practices that have enhanced their production. This work is crucial as the Pantanal faces intensifying threats from wildfires and water cycle disruptions caused by land-use change and civil construction.
The initiative is being implemented throughout the Pantanal and aims to expand to at least 200 ranches by 2030. And this crucial expansion will help protect the Pantanal ecologically, culturally, and economically for generations to come.
Learn more about the FPS in this video:
