CONTENTS INTRODUCTION THE UPPER PARAGUAY RIVER BASIN 1 DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICTS.............................. 2 1.1 Geographical Situation...............................................................................................2 1.2 Overview...................................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Population................................................................................................................... 11 1.4 Conservation Areas ................................................................................................. 17 1.5 Economy and Infrastructure................................................................................... 20 1.6 Threats to the Ecosystems..................................................................................... 25 2 INSTITUTIONAL AND MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK ............................ 30 2.1 National Legal and Institutional Framework....................................................... 30 2.2 Management in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul ............................................. 30 2.3 Management in the State of Mato Grosso.......................................................... 31 2.4 Public Bodies.............................................................................................................. 31 2.5 NGOs.......................................................................................................................... 35 2.6 Educational and Research Institutions ................................................................. 38 3 RELEVANT LEGISLATION AND INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS....... 40 3.1 Brazilian Laws and Norms...................................................................................... 40 3.2 International Treaties and Conventions.............................................................. 45 STRATEGIES FOR THE JICA 4 REGIONAL PLANS, PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS....................................... 47 5 JICA PARTICIPATION PROPOSALS.................................................................. 55 5.1 Coordination of Fish Stock Monitoring in the UPRB in Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul ......................................................................... 57 5.2 Restoration of the Paraguay River Headwaters, the PEPE and VIDA Projects ........................................................................................................... 60 5.3 Sustainable Urban Drainage Program .................................................................. 66 5.4 Long-term Ecological Responses to Flooding Variations in the Pantanal....................................................................................................................... 69 5.5 Monitoring and Control of Water Flow and Quality in the UPRB............... 72 5.6 Proposal for the Sustainable Use of the Pantanal Ecosystem: Production of Beef Cattle....................................................................................... 75 5.7 Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas (Águas do Pantanal).............................. 77 ANNEXES INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION This document is the result of consulting services related to the “Feasibility Assessment of Environmental Projects in the Upper Paraguay River Basin”, compiled by COBRAPE – Cia Brasileira de Projetos e Empreendimentos on behalf of the JICA – Japan International Cooperation Agency. In line with the specific aim of the services, the document is structured as follows: − THE UPPER PARAGUAY RIVER BASIN This section comprises a characterization of the study area and a survey of the Upper Paraguay River Basin’s current situation, urban environment and natural ecology, including the principal threats to its ecosystems, as well as a brief description of the main bodies active in the region and the current situation of the most important envisaged programs. There is also a breakdown of the legal framework pertaining to the region’s geography and environment, with specific comments on the main legislation. − STRATEGIES FOR THE JICA Based on the results of surveys and research activities, this section contains an assessment of possible technical cooperation on the part of the JICA through the selection and indication of several specific projects that would benefit from this cooperation. In the course of drawing up this report, we examined documents published by various bodies and consulted several internet sites. We are also grateful for the important contribution from those professionals we interviewed in loco when visiting public bodies in Brasília, Cuiabá, Campo Grande and Corumbá . THE UPPER PARAGUAI RIVER BASIN 1 DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLITS 2 INSTITUTIONAL AND MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK 3 RELEVANT LEGISLATION AND INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS 1. DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIROMENTAL CONFLICTS 1.1 Geographical Situation The Upper Paraguay River Basin (UPRB), situated in the central region of South America, is part of the Paraná-Paraguay Basin, in turn part of the La Plata system, the continent’s second largest watershed after that of the Amazon. The UPRB covers approximately 595,000 km², 61% of which in Brazil, 20% in Bolivia and 19% in Paraguay. The Brazilian part is located in the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, covering almost a hundred municipalities. It comprises three main elements: the plateaus and higher elevations, which take in most of the Basin; the floodplain, in the central part; and the residual elevations adjacent to the plain and its depressions. In the rainy season, the swelling upland waters flow into the Pantanal in enormous volume, provoking flooding, although this is a slow process given the shallow declivity. In Brazil, the plain is formed by tributaries of the Paraguay’s left bank plain. The Paraguay is one of Brazil’s most important plain rivers, being the Pantanal’s only run-off. It rises in the Chapada dos Parecis, near the city of Diamantino (MT) and flows for 2,621 km (1,683 km of which in Brazilian territory) before joining the Paraná River, on the border with Paraguay and Argentina, In addition to the Paraguay itself, the main rivers making up the UPRB sub-basins are the Cuiabá, São Lourenço, Itiquira, Correntes, Taquari, Negro, Aquidauana and Miranda. The Pantanal, which comprises the UPRB’s floodplain with declivities of between 1 and 2 cm/km, occupies around 165,000 km2, 140,000 km² of which in Brazil, in the states of Mato Grosso (35%) and Mato Grosso do Sul (65%). The following maps illustrate the geography of the area in question, as well as some of its characteristics. 2 i2eeq e2si2fesx2sx2fesv rydrogrphy ESV EST ESR EIR fesv epotu2iver 5 ngrá2 d2err rguy2iver wnso2iver fEITQ ontes2e2 5 d2gs2iver verd frr2do2 5 wto2qrosso turu2iver fugres wirssol2 g sefÁ d9yeste 5 5rimver2do2veste 5 árze25 fEHUH qrnde 5oxoréo 5 EIT tir 5gáeres 5ooné 5 ermelho2iver ondonópolis ão2vourenço2iver fento2qomes2iver guiá2iver iquiri2iver stiquir2iver fEQTR qoiás EIV fyvsse quri2iver goxim 5 goxim2iver gpivri2iver gorumá 5 fEITQ xegro2iver rguy2iver EPH equidun2iver wirnd eeq e 5 equidun fEPTP wto2qrosso2 55 5 enstáio gewy do2ul2 qexhi equidã2iver wirnd2iver 5idrolândi fEPTU 5 trdim wrju fEPTU 5 erdido2iver EPP fel2ist 5 ep2iver snternionl2order H SH IHH km x tte2foundry tte2gpitl 5 le2IXSFHHHFHHH 5 gities2with2more2thn2PHFHHH2inhF pper2rguy2iver2fsin2in2frzil ntnl22order2E2frzil win2rivers win2rods i2eeq e2si2fesx2sx2fesv ilevtion ESV EST ESR EIR fesv epotu2iver 5 ngrá2 d2err rguy2iver wnso2iver fEITQ ontes2e2 5 d2gs2iver verd frr2do2 5 wto2qrosso turu2iver fugres wirssol2 g sefÁ d9yeste 5 5rimver2do2veste 5 árze25 fEHUH qrnde 5oxoréo 5 EIT tir 5gáeres 5ooné 5 ermelho2iver ondonópolis ão2vourenço2iver fento2qomes2iver guiá2iver iquiri2iver stiquir2iver fEQTR qoiás EIV fyvsse quri2iver goxim 5 goxim2iver gpivri2iver gorumá 5 fEITQ xegro2iver rguy2iver EPH equidun2iver wirnd eeq e 5 equidun fEPTP wto2qrosso2 55 5 enstáio gewy do2ul2 qexhi equidã2iver wirnd2iver 5idrolândi fEPTU 5 trdim wrju fEPTU 5 erdido2iver EPP fel2ist 5 ep2iver snternionl2order ilevtion H SH IHH km x tte2foundry `2IHH2m tte2gpitl IHH22PHH22m 5 PHH22RHH2m le2IXSFHHHFHHH 5 gities2with2more2thn2PHFHHH2inhF RHH22THH2m pper2rguy2iver2fsin2in2frzil b2THH2m ntnl22order2E2frzil win2rivers win2rods 1.2 Overview Most of the Upper Paraguay is located in the plateau region. The central stretch runs through the plains, a depressed, flat area where surface run-off is jeopardized, leading to periodic flooding. Thus the Pantanal (whose name derives from pântano, the Portuguese word for swamp and is therefore considered inappropriate by some authors, given that its waters are in constant movement), thus constitutes an immense wetland area, the biggest such area in the world. Wetlands or floodlands are exceptionally diverse environments occupying zones of transition between higher, well-drained areas and permanently flooded ones. Their delimitation is extremely difficult given that their borders are diffuse due to the seasonal variations in water levels and human use of the land, which alters the vegetation, the soil and the rainfall cycle. Wetland hydrology creates conditions that differentiate these areas from both other land environments and deepwater ones. The hydrological systems vary greatly in terms of flooding frequency, duration of the hydrological cycle and the depth of the water. There is a wide variety of flooding patterns associated with the world’s leading floodlands. And it is the regularity of these patterns that is responsible