Brazil and the Amazon
The Amazon river basin is the largest on the planet. It holds around 15% of all water flowing through the world’s rivers. Though the Amazon basin spans nine countries, two-thirds of it is in Brazil.
The Amazon river's biodiversity is unrivalled, with around 3,000 species of fish in its waters - more than four times as many as any other river. It’s home to the pink river dolphin, the Tuxuci river dolphin and the Bolivian river dolphin. More than 30 million people from 350 different ethnic groups live in the basin.
The survival of these people, animals and plants depends on a secure supply of clean water.
There’s another important water source in Brazil too: the Pantanal, the planet’s largest continental wetland.
Why we're involved
A big threat in the Amazon is poorly planned hydropower dams. There are now more than 140 large dams at some stage of planning in the region. Deforestation to make way for other land uses like agriculture is a big problem too.
In the Pantanal’s headwaters, forests are being felled to make way for cattle ranching and to grow crops like soya. This causes significant erosion and degradation of springs and streams, which increases chances of flooding. In the more populated south-east, water scarcity and pollution are major issues.
Alongside these local threats, there are several more general concerns. Climate change could bring longer drought periods. Brazil has progressive water management legislation, but implementing it across its hundreds of river basins is challenging.
How we're helping
Water management and pollution
We’ve been working with HSBC for 10 years in Brazil, focusing particularly sharply on strengthening the way water resources are managed at federal, state and basin levels.
In 2006, we supported the development of Brazil’s first National Water Plan. With more than 1,500 community representatives, we also played a big role in developing the Acre region’s State Water Plan.
In Rio de Janeiro state we helped form and strengthen the Sao Joao Intermunicipal River Basin Consortia - which has managed to reduce pollution levels 35-fold in Lake Aruruama.
Pantanal springs
In the Pantanal, we worked with partners to do the first in-depth analysis of threats to the wetland.
One major issue we identified is the degradation of springs in headwater areas. In the Cabacal spring, we’re working with the local community to plant trees and build terracing to minimise the impacts of erosion. We’re planning to run similar projects for other priority springs.
Hydropower
We’ve been tackling unsustainable hydropower development in the Amazon. With support from WWF-UK, WWF-Brazil has developed a Decision Support System that tells governments and developers which rivers are a priority for conservation, and should be kept free-flowing.
In Bolivia we’ve developed a fish monitoring system that will help us understand the impact of four dams planned for the Madeira River.
Watch this short video to find out more about our vision for freshwater conservation in the Amazon basin...
Conserving the Amazon floodplain
In the Amazon floodplain (known as the Varzea), we’re helping local communities look after the fish they depend on for food and income.
With support from the Department for International Development (DfID), we’ve worked with the Brazilian government to formalise community resource management systems in 180 floodplain communities, home to over 35,000 people. This has resulted in significant increases in fish numbers and given some of the country’s poorest people access to over £3.8 million in grants from the federal government.
Find out more about WWF’s work rescuing the Varzea.
In Peru, Colombia and Ecuador, supported by the BBC Wildlife Fund, we’re working with local communities to protect river dolphins - by monitoring populations, reducing negative impacts from fishing and developing the ecotourism industry.
Watch this short video to find out more about our river dolphin conservation work...
Useful links
- HSBC partnership
- The Living Amazon Initiative
- Our work with governments on dams
- Adopt a dolphin
- More about dolphins
- Our forest projects in Brazil
- Exploring the Varzea - Damian's Varzea diary
- A summary of work in the Amazon, under the HSBC Climate Partnership
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