Pantanal

Situated in the heart of South America, the Pantanal is the world’s largest tropical wetland. At 42 million acres, the Pantanal covers an area slightly larger than nine U.S. states and sprawls across three countries—Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay. While not as globally familiar as the Amazon to the north, the Pantanal is one of the most biologically rich environments on the planet with more than 4,700 plant and animal species. In fact, the Pantanal contains South America’s highest concentration of some iconic wildlife species, including the jaguar and caiman.

From October to March, floodwaters fill the Pantanal like a giant reservoir and drain out slowly between April and September, providing ideal aquatic habitat, nutrient renewal, and flood control for millions of people downstream. This flood pulse provides an array of irreplaceable benefits that help the region's economic development and environment, including river flow for boats to navigate, groundwater recharge, and regulation of floodwaters for millions of people. The Pantanal’s economic activity ranges from cattle ranching to soy production to tourism, boosting the local economies of each state within it by billions.