Celebrating the River Paraguay
Each year on the 14th of November, in the Brazilian city of Cáceres the 'Day of the Paraguay River' (Dia do Rio Paraguai) is celebrated. This tradition started in the year 2000, when civil society mobilized for the first time and successfully campaigned against the construction of the Hidrovía Paraguay-Paraná. Since then, the date symbolizes the close relationship of the people with the river, its culture and the environment.
The wetlands system of the Paraguay and Paraná rivers constitutes the largest living freshwater wetland in the world. It is a supplier of water for human consumption and irrigation for agriculture, and provides freshwater and food for the millions of people living along its margins. It has a regulating role in water levels of the rivers of the system, and plays a crucial role in continental and global climate control and local adaptation strategies.
River defines identity of its people
On the 'Dia do Rio Paraguai' of 2018, civil society (CSOs, NGOs and members of local riverine and indigenous communities) from several countries along the Paraguay river (Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay) came together, among them many partners of the Wetlands Without Borders programme. They use the day not only to raise awareness about the threats to the river, such as mining, large-scale agriculture, dams and canalization of the river, but also to stress the close relationship that the people living along its shore feel with the river.
The river is not only an ecosystem they depend on for their livelihoods; it also defines for a large part their culture and identity. Therefore, on the Dia do Rio Paraguai the river is being celebrated with songs, dances and rituals.
Development of sustainable alternatives
In the Wetlands without Borders programme, a large network of civil society organisations work together to develop sustainable economic activities, such as agroecology. These alternatives can provide livelihoods for the riverine communities, protect and strengthen the ecosystem of the Pantanal wetlands area and build resilience to the effects of climate change, in which wetlands play an important role.
Furthermore, the regional network of organisations is developing the concept of biocultural corridors. The idea of biocultural corridors proposes the restoration of waterbodies (small streams, rivers, lakes, springs) that flow towards the wetlands system of La Plata Basin and to the Alto Paraná River. The restored corridors, once implemented, will recover the connection between the ecosystem pockets and therefore restore and strengthen their biological and cultural functions.
The local partners used the Dia do Rio Paraguai to develop these sustainable alternatives further and present them to the communities taking part in the festivities of the day.
For more information
Read more about this subject
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Dossier /
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Blog / 2 February 2022
On World Wetlands Day communities throughout the La Plata Basin are asking for support in their fight for their endangered wetland ecosystems
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News / 15 June 2023
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External link / 19 June 2020
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News / 26 September 2018
Temporary ban on new hydro dams in the Brazilian Pantanal
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External link / 24 August 2022
A growing movement for agroecology (Annual Report 2021)
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News / 26 August 2022
Fires in the Paraná Delta show urgent need for a Wetlands Law
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Large-scale infrastructure
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News / 13 April 2015
The Pantanal, the world’s largest waterland, is under serious threat
For several decades, Both ENDS has been closely following the developments in this large water area in the centre of South America. We work closely with organisations which aim to ensure that the local population knows about these developments and, if necessary, protect it from these changes. But why is this area both so special and important for the whole of South America? And what exactly is threatening this area? C. Cornell Evers, independent photographer and writer, spoke with Tamara Mohr of Both ENDS and Sander van Andel of IUCN to find answers. The result of this meeting is an interesting interview.
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Publication / 2 December 2014
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External link / 20 January 2022
Wetlands without Borders
The Wetlands without Borders programme aims to preserve the biodiversity of the La Plata Basin and the sustainable livelihoods of its communities. Preservation of the La Plata Basin is essential for protecting the region from flood and drought, and preserving the quality of life of its inhabitants. Click here for the programme's website and for the latest information.
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Dossier /
Soy: trade in deforestation
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News / 24 September 2024
Massive Wildfires Ravage South America
“The fires have reached proportions we have never experienced before.”
Large swathes of South America are currently draped in smoke. From Buenos Aires, to São Paulo to Asunción people struggle to breathe due to unprecedented fires raging on the continent, fuelled by extreme drought, the expansion of the agriculture frontier and rising temperatures linked to climate change.
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News / 14 June 2023
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News / 19 June 2024
Recognition for PROBIOMA from the Chamber of Deputies of the Plurinational State of Bolivia
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Blog / 28 May 2020
South American organisations are pushing back their boundaries
By Eva SchmitzThe Rio de la Plata Basin in South America extends across Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The livelihoods of the millions of people who live there – city-dwellers, small farmers and fishers, and indigenous peoples – are under pressure from soya cultivation, mining and logging, and by the construction of dams and ports. The COVID-19 crisis is making the situation even worse.
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News / 3 February 2022
EU deforestation law can and must be stronger. Join #Together4Forests!
In the coming months, new EU regulation on deforestation-free products will be discussed in the Dutch and EU parliaments. The goal is that no more products related to deforestation in whatever way, will be imported into the EU . A very good and important initiative, but according to many civil society organisations, including Both ENDS, the bill that has now been drafted is far from sufficient.
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News / 18 March 2022
International Forests Day: the importance of forests for livelihoods and a healthy environment
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News / 3 March 2015
Sengwer people evicted for controversial - World Bank funded - project in Kenya
Under the pretext of a ‘Natural Resource Management Project’ funded by the World Bank, the Kenyan Forest Service has, again, started to forcibly evict the indigenous Sengwer people from their ancestral lands in the Kerangany Hills and to burn down their houses. This was documented on March 2nd, by a fact-finding team that was sent to the ground by the World Bank’s own inspection panel.
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Blog / 26 February 2024
Impacts of the fossil fuel sector in Guanabara Bay
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