OPESCADOR

Brazil for Gringos

 

The Pantanal

Nosso Pantanal tem-se tornado um grande centro de pesquisa e eco-turismo, mas parece que os estrangeiros entenderam isso melhor que os brasileiros. Speak Up foi investigar o por quê.
 

cene 1: In the higher ranks⁽¹⁾ of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), one of the most famous ecological NGOs in the world, a division among the members becomes inevitable. So one group leaves and founds Conservation International. Scene 2: In the Brazilian lowlands, the Rondons, a famous old family (possible descendants of the great explorer Marshal Cândido Rondon, who also lent his name to Rondônia State) face a serious dispute between brothers. Deeply worried about the rivalry within his family, the patriarch Orlando Rondon makes a dramatic decision: the family farm will be sold; no one will inherit⁽²⁾ it. These two troubled waters met unexpectedly in 1997, when Conservation International Brasil bought Fazenda Rio Negro from Orlando Rondon, 7,700 hectares for US $1.5 million.
I did not venture into any of the quarrels⁽³⁾, as this was not my purpose in the Pantanal. The fact is that Fazenda Rio Negro has become a center for eco-tourism in Brazil, and this is the perspective of Americans, British,

Europeans, Australians, possibly more than of Brazilians themselves. Actor Harrison Ford is one of the biggest supporters of CI; the American Government's environmental chief has been at Rio Negro Farm. So Speak Up decided to see "what gringos come to see here in Brazil," or rather, "the Brazil we show them," starting with the Pantanal. Some pictures may look familiar to the less young readers, as Rio Negro was the site of 1991's hugely successful TV soap opera⁽⁴⁾, Pantanal. But since Conservation Brasil bought the land, many things have happened. Conservation, restoration, and the building of new facilities were helped by the arrival of electricity, the result of a collective effort of the Pantaneiro people. Air conditioning, for example, is a luxury item that is reduced to almost essential status there.

The Feelings
Though Brazilian Culture Minister Gilberto Gil wasn't in the Pantanal when he composed the old hit "King Time/Weather" (Tempo Rei: tempo means both time and weather), this Portuguese-language

wordplay well defines how you feel in the wetlands: time and weather rule over life forms⁽⁵⁾, from vegetable through animal to human. Foreigners coming to this part of Brazil have a clear experience that "Brazil is a hot place." I was there during the dry, winter season: temperatures were in the high thirties; insects, bearable⁽⁶⁾. I know that during some 10 days in the year it can get mildly⁽⁷⁾ cold (15ºC), but that wasn't my experience. During the wet summer season, as I was told, flies and insects are overwhelming⁽⁸⁾, and the heat becomes unbearable for the less adventurous. So it's best to lie in the water, as piranhas are much more rare in the wet season than in the dry season.
On the "time" side there is also a rewarding new experience. We

learn from nature that the siesta is very justified here: animal-watching must take place early in the morning and in the late afternoon to evening. Animals aren't stupid enough to expose themselves to so much sun and heat, and you will agree with them after your first midday in the Pantanal. So you divide your sleeping time into two: right after lunch and right after dinner, as birdlife gets loud well before 5 a.m. One more point: The hotel has a TV room, but I never saw anybody in it; the hotel has a

(central) telephone and is linked to the Internet, but these facilities seem so strange in this environment that one avoids them instinctively and leaves the outside world outside. There's so much natural noise to pay attention to, and so much natural scenery to watch that it really seems best to shut off⁽⁹⁾ and enjoy. You zero⁽¹⁰⁾ in your mind. Having said this, I reckon⁽¹¹⁾ most urbanoids won't stand much more than three to five days in the place. Unless you come for a specific purpose, as researchers and volunteers do, the urban treadmill⁽¹²⁾ in you will start to itch⁽¹³⁾ after four days of nothing but nature-watching, eating and sleeping (besides, your body might start to itch with mosquito bites as well), so it'll be time to go back to hectic, beloved pollution…
 

The Facts
So much for the kingdom of time and weather. Fazenda Rio Negro has become a center for Pantanal research, with seven simultaneous projects run by⁽¹⁴⁾ EarthWatch (see interview). Don

Eaton, who coordinates researchers and volunteers for EarthWatch, a partner of Conservation International, explained that scientific knowledge about the Pantanal is still basic. However, as the Pantanal is already suffering a lot, and under serious threat⁽¹⁵⁾, and very little is known about the whole ecosystem, research is always welcome.
Therefore, conservation NGOs, together with the Brazilian Government, have developed a plan of action called "conservation corridors," in order to save larger, strategic areas from devastation. Plans involve helping local communities with education (and health assistance as well) so that the knowledge acquired serves all species covered, including local people. A key differential point for Fazenda Rio Negro is the knowledge-generating environment, as tourists may acquire plenty of information about - and even take part in - the research projects

under way. So besides having a good look at one of the last reasonably preserved wildlife sites in South America (and by far the most important), you may actually take part in the research work, talk to researchers on the spot⁽¹⁶⁾, and so on. Obviously, there are certain restrictions, but where else could you have a hands-on experience like that? Fazenda Caiman, accessible by car at the southern border of the Pantanal, is also a place for eco-tourism and has some scientific research going on too (for the Blue Macaw Project), but it doesn't compare with Fazenda Rio Negro in this respect. Other places within the Pantanal are devoted to research and conservation, and this shows that local owners and

ranchers, despite what one would imagine, are already conscious and very in favor of the need to preserve this ecosystem. Did you know that the Pantanal is the world's largest wetland⁽¹⁷⁾, and is one of the best places on Earth to see wildlife, rivaling⁽¹⁸⁾ the African savannas? Well, it seems Brazilians do not, but foreign eco-tourists are better informed of that. But it is also true that Pantanal animals are at liberty, so you won't go from one stop to another to see "the next animal" - or, as I was corrected in our Speak Up office: "The Pantanal is not a zoo!" So, calibrate your expectations, and you'll have a great experience. Starting from within the hotel grounds, in 4 days I

Above: sunset over the Rio Negro and the Fazenda Rio Negro brochure.

recall seeing, first of all: uncountable caymans⁽¹⁹⁾ (OK, over 100, and they're not dangerous), almost as many capybaras, and many rheas⁽²⁰⁾. As for birds: blue macaws⁽²¹⁾ sleeping in two hotel trees, jabiru storks⁽²²⁾, roseate spoonbills⁽²³⁾, ibises⁽²⁴⁾, herons⁽²⁵⁾, parrots⁽²⁶⁾, parakeets, wattled jacanas⁽²⁷⁾, falcons and wading birds⁽²⁸⁾ of many kinds, rufescent tiger-herons⁽²⁹⁾, and many other kinds of birds (there are at least 430 species known in the Pantanal), accompanied by the "less special" ovenbirds⁽³⁰⁾, southern lapwings⁽³¹⁾, tyrant flycatchers⁽³²⁾ and even black vultures⁽³³⁾. Still on the larger animals: I could watch (for a longer time) tapir⁽³⁴⁾, two river otters⁽³⁵⁾, marsh and pampas deer⁽³⁶⁾ (some 10 altogether⁽³⁷⁾), two coatis. As expected, I didn't see the Pantanal jaguar⁽³⁸⁾ (did you know it is twice the size of its Amazon relative?), but I did see feral pigs⁽³⁹⁾ and collared peccary⁽⁴⁰⁾, which along with capybara are a good prey for puma⁽⁴¹⁾ and jaguar. And I saw (on a nocturnal torch-trip), some four crab-eating foxes⁽⁴²⁾ twice. During this time, colleagues saw a giant anteater⁽⁴³⁾ with its baby, while others saw a giant otter. Even the "routine" photo-safari trip is part of the research work, as monitors carry a GPS and a report sheet, where they mark down⁽⁴⁴⁾ all mammals spotted⁽⁴⁵⁾. Trips are carried outK on horsebac⁽⁴⁶⁾ and on foot, in motor boats, kayaks, jeeps, and in other adapted military vehicles, known as "patachocas". My guide, Renato Rondon de Barros, was a local boy, a descendant of the illustrious poet Manoel de Barros and a nephew of the previous owner of Fazenda Rio Negro.

 

The Pantanal covers some 650,000 km2 in a broad sense, including the neighboring Chacos, or 210,000 km2 in a strict sense, all in the upper Paraguay River basin⁽⁴⁷⁾. Of the Pantanal's area, 70% falls within Brazil, 20% within Bolivia, and 10% within Paraguay. Brazilian nationalists need not worry, though, about any internationalization of the Pantanal (as they worry about the Amazon). There is indeed a big influx of foreign people and money, but if you check EarthWatch's site, you'll see it advertising the unique experience of being a volunteer to help researchers in the Pantanal. These people pay to come and pay to work at Fazenda Rio Negro. Sometimes the "exciting experience"

turns out to be sitting and watching a fruit tree for four hours (in the scorchingM⁽⁴⁸⁾heat), and taking notes on any birds or animals that may (or may not) appear to eat its fruit, as UNESP scientist Camila Donati told me. And visitors all leave loving the place. According to Don, 95% of the researchers are Brazilian. But internationalization does occur in the Pantanal, and it is of the best kind imaginable: that of people, work, solidarity, humankind. Starting with the Fazenda tour guides, who are not "cold professionals" able to handle all kinds of emergencies with a painted smile on their faces. They are real human beings instead, capable of the odd wrong turn (or gear) in the labyrinth of trails in the area, and therefore much more sensitive to the human beings that visit the place. Timetables are flexible, and the agenda of activities is defined with the relevant tourist just one meal before each start. And still, that could change if any unexpected situation turns up.
Rio Negro's guides work with the serenity of those who know the ropes⁽⁴⁹⁾, those who've learned to live in the kingdom of time and weather, just like the animals everybody goes there to see.

Karl Kepler
Speak Up stayed at the Fazenda Rio
Negro by invitation.
 

Matéria publicada na revista Speak Up edição 198 - novembro/2003