World's largest wetland threatened in Brazil

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By Raymond Colitt

CORUMBA, Brazil (Reuters) - Jaguars still roam the world's largest wetland and endangered Hyacinth Macaws nest in its trees but advancing farms and industries are destroying Brazil's Pantanal region at an alarming rate.

The degradation of the landlocked river delta on the upper Paraguay river which straddles Brazil's borders with Bolivia and Paraguay is a reminder of how economic progress can cause large-scale environmental damage.

"It's a type of Noah's Ark but it risks running aground," biologist and tourist guide Elder Brandao de Oliveira says of the Pantanal.

Brazil's exports of beef, iron and to a lesser extent soy -- the main products from the Pantanal -- have rocketed in recent years, driven largely by global demand.

Less well-known than the Amazon rain forest, the Pantanal is larger than England and harbors a huge fresh water reserve and extraordinary wildlife, ranging from 220-pound (100-kg) jaguars to giant otters that mingle in water holes packed with nine-foot (3-meter) caimans.

The world's largest freshwater wetland, it is almost 10 times the size of Florida's Everglades.

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