The landscape of the Pantanal is a mosaic of ecosystems with an abundance of water. It is one of the largest perennial flood plains on the Planet and one of Brazil's richest biomes. The Pantanal harbours 656 species of birds, 325 species of fish, 159 mammals, 98 reptiles, 53 amphibians and over 3,500 species of plants. In all, there are over 4,700 species of flora and fauna in the region, including two endemic species and various threatened species, such as the Giant Anteater, Maned Wolf and Hyacinth Macaw. Despite its great ecological importance, the average Brazilian knows very little about the Pantanal.

To celebrate Pantanal Day (12 November), WWF-Brasil created some infographics to showcase the biome and emphasize its importance for Brazil and the rest of the world, and highlight the threats to the region and ways of protecting it.

Despite its importance, the Pantanal faces a number of threats that are common to the three countries where it is located. Currently, only 3.19% of the biome is covered by protected areas, a mere 2.88% of which are strictly protected areas, putting the biome at even greater risk.

These threats are the theme of a study undertaken by WWF-Brasil that monitored land cover and land use changes in the Upper Paraguay River Basin, which showed that the region has already lost approximately 50% of its original cover

(Texto Adaptado. Fonte: Disponível em:

<https://www.wwf.org.br/?50183/Infographics-showthe- importance-of-the-Pantanal-and-the-main-threatsfaced- by-the-biome>. Acesso em: 2 mar. 2022)