A dramatic decline in biodiversity and the impacts of climate change have unleashed unprecedented droughts in the Pantanal Chaco region. Flows of important rivers are drastically low. Now local women are declaring themselves as guardians of the water. They are determined to secure a sustainable future for generations to come. Their collective aim? Ensure the enduring preservation of the remaining freshwater resources. The Voices for Just Climate Action-program (VCA) empowers these women and supports them to defend nature and their way of life.

Harmony of wet and dry: The Pantanal Chaco Ecosystem

The Pantanal Chaco (PACHA) is a transitional area between the Gran Chaco and the Pantanal region, encompassing parts of Bolivia and Paraguay. It combines features of the dry Gran Chaco forests and the swampy Pantanal, resulting in one of the richest ecosystems in the world hosting various plants and animal species (including endangered ones) that are adapted to both drier and wetter conditions.

Threats to harmony: Deforestation and climate change

Continuous threats such as deforestation, land encroachment and uncontrolled fires are contributing to climate change. It also leads to a significant decline in biodiversity and plays a part in the droughts and soil degradation in the Pantanal Chaco. This poses a threat to both the natural environment and the local communities residing in the area.

Triggered by the alarming loss of 4.04 million hectares of forest (an area equivalent to the size of the Netherlands) since 1985 in the Pantanal Chaco, a coalition of 169 communities, comprising almost 100,000 residents are rising up. They are dedicated to preserving their landscape, trying to safeguard the almost 20 million hectares left, which is so vital in fighting climate change.

Key priority areas in the vicinity include Tucavaca, Laguna Cáceres, and Río Negro. The healthy water flow in these regions is crucial, directly supporting 96,000 people and indirectly benefiting an additional 1,500,000 individuals.

Empowering communities

Through the support of the VCA program, around 700 women and 150 indigenous communities have been able to raise their voices to advocate for water and their territory, spanning from the Pantanal Chaco to the Amazon. Because, without water, there's no production of food and the community itself is at risk. Some people have already moved away because of water shortages.

With the help of WWF-Bolivia and SBDA, ORE, PBACC, NATIVA (global and local partners of the VCA-network), local communities got their area, including the springs that feed for Laguna Cáceres, recognized and protected by the government—a big achievement for them and an example for other communities.