Pew’s Ongoing Conservation Efforts Help to Protect Two Key South American Landscapes

The conserving the Pantanal and Gran Chaco of South America project is working to protect two of the continent’s most important landscapes: the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland, and the Gran Chaco dry forest, the continent’s second-largest forest. Together, these interconnected areas provide critical habitats, ecosystem nutrient flow, migratory routes, and natural flood control for millions of animals and people downstream in the Paraguay River basin.

The project supports the effective management and expansion of parks and other protected areas, as well as Indigenous peoples’ stewardship of their ancestral territories and the sustainable management of private ranchlands in the Pantanal.  

The Pew Charitable Trusts is working with national and local governments, partner organizations, local communities, and Indigenous peoples to expand protections for the Pantanal-Gran Chaco region’s remarkable biodiversity and to promote sustainable land use that supports local livelihoods, aiming to ensure the long-term sustainability and resilience of these vital ecosystems.

Learn more in this video about our work in Brazil and Bolivia: