REPORT LIVING AMAZON 2015 State of the Amazon: Freshwater Connectivity and Ecosystem Health WWF LIVING AMAZON INITIATIVE SUGGESTED CITATION Macedo, M. and L. Castello. 2015. State of the Amazon: Freshwater Connectivity and Ecosystem Health; edited by D. Oliveira, C. C. Maretti and S. Charity. Brasília, Brazil: WWF Living Amazon Initiative. 136pp. PUBLICATION INFORMATION State of the Amazon Series editors: Cláudio C. Maretti, Denise Oliveira and Sandra Charity. This publication State of the Amazon: Freshwater Connectivity and Ecosystem Health: Publication editors: Denise Oliveira, Cláudio C. Maretti, and Sandra Charity. Publication text editors: Sandra Charity and Denise Oliveira. Core Scientific Report (chapters 1-6): Written by Marcia Macedo and Leandro Castello; scientific assessment commissioned by WWF Living Amazon Initiative (LAI). State of the Amazon: Conclusions and Recommendations (chapter 7): Cláudio C. Maretti, Marcia Macedo, Leandro Castello, Sandra Charity, Denise Oliveira, André S. Dias, Tarsicio Granizo, Karen Lawrence WWF Living Amazon Integrated Approaches for a More Sustainable Development in the Pan-Amazon Freshwater Connectivity Cláudio C. Maretti; Sandra Charity; Denise Oliveira; Tarsicio Granizo; André S. Dias; and Karen Lawrence. Maps: Paul Lefebvre/Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC); Valderli Piontekwoski/Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM, Portuguese acronym); and Landscape Ecology Lab /WWF Brazil. Photos: Adriano Gambarini; André Bärtschi; Brent Stirton/Getty Images; Denise Oliveira; Edison Caetano; and Ecosystem Health Fernando Pelicice; Gleilson Miranda/Funai; Juvenal Pereira; Kevin Schafer/naturepl.com; María del Pilar Ramírez; Mark Sabaj Perez; Michel Roggo; Omar Rocha; Paulo Brando; Roger Leguen; Zig Koch. Front cover Mouth of the Teles Pires and Juruena rivers forming the Tapajós River, on the borders of Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Pará states, Brazil. © Zig Koch / WWF-Living Amazon Initiative. WWF is one of the world’s largest and most experienced independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. WWF Living Amazon Initiative is one of nine Global Initiatives of the WWF Network. It has been developed since 2006 and implemented since 2008. Since 2013 it has had a focused approach, as an initiative dealing with regional or transboundary issues related to protected areas and indigenous territories, hydropower and deforestation, complementing the work done nationally and locally by the offices and organizations of the WWF Network working in the Amazon. A WWF Living Amazon Initiative production Published in April 2015 by WWF – World Wide Fund For Nature (Formerly World Wildlife Fund - Gland, Switzerland). Any reproduction in full or in part must mention the title and credit the above-mentioned publisher as the copyright owner. © Text 2015 WWF All rights reserved. ISBN 978-2-940529-19-3 For more information: [email protected] www.panda.org/amazon 1st Edition Brasilia, Brazil April, 2015 LIST OF ACRONYMS CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS 4 APPs Areas of Permanent Preservation ABC Low-Carbon Agriculture FOREWORD 8 ACTO Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 10 ARPA Amazon Region Protected Areas Program BNDES Brazilian National Economic and Social Development Bank 1. INTRODUCTION 18 C carbon 1.1. Amazon hydrological connectivity 20 CAF Latin American Development Bank 1.2. Objectives 21 CH4 methane 2. AMAZON FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS 26 CO2 carbon dioxide COSIPLAN The South American Infrastructure and Planning Council 2.1. Freshwater ecosystem types 27 EIA Environmental Impact Assessment 2.2. Aquatic ecosystem services 30 EIA-RIMA Environmental Impact Assessment and Report on Impacts to 3. DRIVERS OF HYDROLOGICAL ALTERATION 38 the Environment 3.1. Dams 39 ET evapotranspiration 3.2. Land-cover change 42 Fonplata Plata Basin Development Fund 3.3. Mineral extraction 45 GHG greenhouse gas 3.4. Climate change 46 Hg mercury IBI Index of Biotic Integrity 4. IMPACTS ON FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS 60 IDB Inter-American Development Bank 4.1. Disruption of physical processes 60 IIRSA The Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure 4.2. Disruption of biological processes 61 of South America 4.3. Disruption of ecosystem services 64 IPs indigenous peoples IRBM integrated river basin management 5. EXISTING POLICIES 68 ITs indigenous territories 5.1. Protected areas 68 LAI Living Amazon Initiative 5.2. Climate and land-use policy 70 MeHg methylmercury 5.3. Water resource management 71 NPP net primary production 5.4. Environmental licensing of dams 72 PA protected area 5.5. Gaps in existing policies 75 PNMC National Climate Change Plan (Brazil) 6. MANAGING FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEM CONNECTIVITY 96 PPCDAm Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the 6.1. Assessing vulnerability 97 Legal Amazon 6.3. Developing indicators of ecosystem integrity 99 Q discharge 6.4. Implementing management 102 RIMA Report on Impacts to the Environment SAMS South American Monsoon System 7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 106 THg total mercury 7.1 Freshwater ecosystems and hydrological connectivity 107 TRMM Tropical Rainforest Monitoring Mission 7.2 Ecosystem services and social impacts 109 UNASUR Union of South American Nations 7.3 Managing ecological impacts 110 WHRC Woods Hole Research Center 7.4 Monitoring and evaluation 112 DS Changes in soil water storage 8. REFERENCES 122 9. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 134 State of the Amazon: Freshwater Connectivity and Ecosystem Health p. 4 © Denise Oliveira/WWF-Living Denise © Initiative Amazon TABLE OF EXTRA CONTENTS THE AMAZON IS… 22 FISH TYPES 33 AMAZON FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEM TYPES 34 TOCANTINS RIVER BASIN AS THE FUTURE OF THE AMAZON? 48 DEFORESTATION SCENARIOS IN THE AREA OF INFLUENCE OF 50 THE TAPAJÓS HYDROPOWER COMPLEX DEFORESTATION FRONTS AND TRENDS IN THE AMAZON 56 PROTECTED ECOLOGICAL REPRESENTATION IN THE AMAZON AND THE ‘AQUASCAPES’ 76 TAPAJÓS: INTEGRATED PLANNING FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 78 BRAZILIAN ENERGY POLICY AND THE MANAGEMENT OF 92 AMAZON FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS WWF LIVING AMAZON INTEGRATED APPROACHES FOR A MORE 114 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE PAN-AMAZON Amazon forest, Madre de Dios, Peru. Foreword WWF launched its Living Amazon the importance of hydropower, both as a concrete threat to the Amazon and the FOREWORD Initiative, one of nine Global local communities, including indigenous peoples, and as a means of enabling Initiatives of the WWF Network, in development in the region. Charting the correct path requires evidence-based, 2008. Since 2013 we have pursued respectful, sustainable, integrated approaches. a focused approach to dealing with regional and transboundary issues related to protected areas and indigenous Therefore, in this State of the Amazon report, we include some contributions from territories, hydropower, and deforestation, complementing the national and the technical discussions as sidebar articles, including some presented for the local work of the offices and organizations of the WWF Network. first time here: a summary of Deforestation scenarios in the area of influence of the Tapajós Hydropower Complex, a study developed by WWF Living Amazon As part of our approach, WWF Living Amazon Initiative developed the State Initiative, WWF Brazil and the Amazon Environmental Research Institute of the Amazon report series, which describes the key conservation goals (“IPAM” is the Portuguese acronym); and Tapajós: integrated planning for and issues of sustainable development on a Pan-Amazon scale and presents biodiversity conservation, which describes the conservation part of an integrated challenges and examples from both national and local perspectives. approach with energy authorities. Also included is a summary of the WWF Pan- Amazon view on the requirements for greener hydropower development. In November 2014, we presented the first report, State of the Amazon: Ecological Representation, Protected Areas and Indigenous Territories, at The Amazon is under threat. We usually know it due to the importance of its the IUCN World Parks Congress in Australia. forests and the immense volumes of deforestation each year. Brazil’s efforts to curb deforestation — and consequently reduce carbon emissions — are among the WWF Living Amazon Initiative is pleased to present the newest report in best in the world. Yet we tend to forget the Amazon rivers, which are also crucially the series, State of the Amazon: Freshwater Connectivity and Ecosystem important. Terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are mutually dependent in terms Health, which provides a comprehensive assessment of the current state of of connectivity and therefore affect the region’s longer-term ecological stability. Amazon freshwater ecosystems and highlights the importance of hydrological Scientific research proves that interdependence within the Amazon is crucial to connectivity and land-water interactions in maintaining the ecological stability in the region’s ecological functioning and that the Amazon is vital to both functions that support water, food and energy security. the continent and the world in terms of ecosystem services the region provides. Prominent researchers wrote