The Brazilian Pantanal is considered one of the best places in the world to see jaguars in the wild and Brazil’s top destination for wildlife tourism, attracting numerous visitors every year. These are the largest wetlands on the planet and also home to more than 5,6 million people including traditional communities.
In 2020, a series of fires have destroyed more than 4,5 million hectares of the Pantanal, threatening its fauna and flora and the local population. As tourism has stopped because of the Covid-19 pandemic, challenges to save the biome were even higher. Through a huge regional and national mobilization, local players, including volunteers, brigadiers, NGOs and entrepreneurs, have managed to control the fires.
The challenge now remains in helping the Pantanal through its environmental and economic recovery. With that in mind, tour operator Pure Brasil has launched an international campaign to remind visitors that the Pantanal is still pretty much alive, with amazing landscapes and wildlife to be spotted as soon as safe travels resume.
“The Pantanal recovers fast. The more we visit the biome, the more we will spread tourism as an economic activity in the region, which will depend less on activities that jeopardize nature, such as non-responsible agribusiness”, says Douglas Simões, director at Pure Brasil. “The aim of the video campaign is to raise awareness about how responsible tourism can help to preserve the area and how each person can take part in it”.
