The chords are unmistakable. And so is the melody. 🎶 “Oh! Chalana sem querer / Tu aumentas minha dor / Nessas águas tão serenas / Vai levando meu amor…”. (“Oh! Chalana unintentionally / You increase my pain / In these so serene waters / You carry my love…”.) 🎶

Just listening to the song “Chalana”, by Almir Sater, so that Faria Lima teleports towards any Pantanal plain. And the sweater on the back turns into a leather vest. Designer pants will give way to jeans already worn out from daily work. And fashionable sneakers – on, perhaps – quickly turn into leather boots. All of this aboard a Harley-Davidson… No, wait, now riding a gaiting horse, whose name could be Limer.

But this paradise on Earth, framed by a high sun, to the sound of tuiuiús and jaguar noises in the best Juma Marruá style – those who who watched the soap opera Pantanal at any time in their lives, know the ‘wildness’ of the animal well -, is at risk. At great risk. And it’s not even about alligators pretending to be slow on the riverbank, or even piranhas waiting for the “blood in the water” signal, or anacondas on the prowl; here it is about the action of the ‘man-animal’ towards the environment.

Because any movement in this region is gigantic, as well showed by the exhibition “Água Pantanal Fogo” (Water, Pantanal, Fire), shown between March and May this year, at the Instituto Tomie Ohtake, in São Paulo (SP). The exuberance of one of the largest continuous humid areas in the world, highlighted in the exhibition, sets the tone for the real dimension of this place with two thousand types of plants and hundreds of animal species, which has been burning in flames for months. A tragedy as or more terrible than the fires of 2020, which destroyed 26% of this biome.

Post Scriptum: Biome is a set of plant and animal life, formed by the grouping of types of vegetation that are close and that can be identified at a regional level, with similar geological and climate conditions and that, historically, have undergone the same formation processes of the landscape, resulting in a unique diversity of flora and fauna. (Source: IBGE)

Pantera System, managed by the Instituto Homem Pantanal, in the Alto Pantanal region. (Credits: IHP)

The recent data from the MapBiomas collaborative network – made up by Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), universities and startups – are, therefore, enough to make you sit on the curb of any avenue, including Faria Lima itself, and ask yourself: until when? Between January and June 2024, Pantanal had 468 thousand hectares burned – the equivalent to three times the area of ​​the city of São Paulo -, 370 thousand of which in June alone (or three times the size of the city of Rio de Janeiro). A disaster.

Also, according to the collaborative network, one of the most affected regions in Pantanal, so far, was the one close to Corumbá, in Mato Grosso. 299 thousand hectares were burned in June alone. Let’s repeat. Including, in capital letters and in bold, to eliminate any error of interpretation: T-W-O H-U-N-D-R-E-D and N-I-N-E-T-Y N-I-N-E T-H-O-U-S-A-N-D hectares dredged by the flames. Or just over 440 thousand football fields.

If this doesn’t shock anyone, honestly, it’s difficult to imagine what could provoke outrage when it comes to climate, human action, and the environment.

The problem in Pantanal is not just fire. And, if it was by itself it would be a huge problem. But it’s also the drought. And worse. How they intertwine and relate.

The song is as follows. It all starts with the water level, which has been falling year after year. With this reduction, the biome suffers.

Oh, now yes. We all understand how perverse is the combination of dry weather, lack of water and fire, a lot of fire. Since this junction makes the perfect storm happen. What is it? With the drought, the flames spread mercilessly.

But there is a detail in this apparently perfect alignment of the stars. According to experts, there are no signs that the fire is being caused by natural causes, such as lightning or one of the seven biblical plagues. Far from it. In fact, it is the action of the ‘man-animal’ with the fires, responsible for the fires.

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Pantanal high tech

However, there is hope. Better, hopes! No juggling and magic, but there are paths. Because the preservation of Pantanal involves several aspects, such as protection of natural areas, sustainable water management and efficient management of water resources, in addition to a broad environmental education strategy capable of awakening society’s awareness of the preservation of water and diversity, as explained by Eduardo Rosa, coordinator of MapBiomas Pantanal (see section 3 questions for…).

He also lists other examples linked to technology, such as monitoring and forecasting, soil moisture and water level sensors, satellites and drones to detect fire outbreaks, real-time images and climate prediction models. In short, we are talking about data intelligence to feed strategies.

This is exactly where Agrotools, an investee of the Brazilian venture capital fund manager KPTL, enters this story. The company, which has a relationship with the National Development, Economic and Social Bank (BNDES) in a project called “Low Carbon Livestock”, has strategic partnerships with Microsoft and ESRI, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, its acronym in English), location intelligence and mapping.

Agrotools control room, bringing together mapping, data and location intelligence. (Credits: Agrotools)

A digital solutions company with a strong presence in agribusiness, it has been present since April 2023 in Pantanal through REDD+ Serra Amolar, a project developed by Instituto Homem Pantaneiro (IHP), located in the region of the same name located between the states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso, on the border with Bolivia.

It couldn’t be any different! Agrotools has been operating in various geographies for years, with contracts in Latin America (Paraguay, Argentina) and Australia, and more recently entered Ecuador, in addition to maintaining an office in the United States.

In other words, once the path was paved, REDD+ became the first project to issue carbon credits in Pantanal with certification from Verra, carbon credit certifier and leader in the REDD (Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) methodology. Under the agreement, Agrotools is responsible for providing data on more than 135 thousand hectares, the equivalent of 200 thousand football fields.

“Considering carbon credits as financial incentives designed to reward areas that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Agrotools technology allows effective monitoring, ensuring the reliability of statistics and preventing deforestation in an area crucial for biodiversity, jaguar habitat -guinea fowl and other wild animals”, says Sérgio Rocha, CEO of Agrotools

“As the area to be observed is vast, monitoring is remote, using our technology and spatial data, essential for the success of the project, which will be reviewed every four years. It is a huge project, in which Agrotools acts as a remote guardian of sustainability and transparency”, emphasizes Rocha.

The objective of REDD+ Serra do Amolar is to preserve Pantanal and reinvest the funds obtained in expanding the Serra do Amolar Protection and Conservation Network. Created in 2008 by IHP, in partnership with other entities, this network is a natural conservation corridor, housing several endangered species and protecting against unplanned deforestation and fires.

“The conservation of this area is vital for Pantanal and represents an opportunity for sustainable development, benefiting local communities and aligning with the ESG agenda”, says the CEO of Agrotools, which currently analyzes more than 4.5 million rural territories and monitors BRL15 billion in commodities in the country.

Private Natural Heritage Reserve (RPPN, in portuguese version) Acurizal Penha, in Serra do Amolar.

(Credits: Viviane Amorim/Divulgação/IHP)

The idea of ​​REDD+ Serra do Amolar was to seek alternatives so that not only could the financial challenges of conservation actions be resolved, but also to show that Pantanal has important assets, according to Ângelo Rebelo, president of Instituto Homem Pantaneiro.

“Not only with carbon credits, but also with the unprecedented biodiversity credit project in Brazil. These tools end up contributing to closing a high-cost bill, which is called the Pantanal Cost, without roads, without electricity, without communication”; says Rabelo.

In this context, the new tools of the 21st century play an important role. “Technology should be understood as a way to optimize and reduce this Pantanal Cost”, says Rabelo.

As you can see, there is no shortage of innovation and data intelligence to generate sustainable business and protect Pantanal. In fact, nature thanks. Whether through a jaguar noise or in the character of ‘Véio do Rio’ (Oldman of the River), the spiritual guardian of the Pantanal serial. And, again, it doesn’t matter if you watched the first version or remake, because the ‘Véio do Rio’ was always there, just like nature. In fact, since always.

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Mahatma Ghandi

3 questions for…

Eduardo Rosa

Agricultural engineer, master in Human Geography, specialist in Geoprocessing and coordinator of MapBiomas Pantanal.

1) The MapBiomas Água study points out that Pantanal was the biome that has dried out the most since 1985, with the year 2023 being 50% drier than 2018, the time of the last major flood in the locality. What has caused this constant decrease in water levels in Pantanal?

The climate issue is involved with regard to the precipitation that falls in the Upper Paraguay Hydrographic Basin (BAP). The plain faces the consequences of these climate variations. Pantanal has already experienced droughts like these 60 years ago, but under a different climatic context, as well as a different context, coverage and land use, mainly on the plateau of the Upper Paraguay Hydrographic Basin. On the BAP plateau, 5.4 million areas of natural vegetation were replaced by pasture and agricultural areas that even occupy permanent preservation areas on the banks of rivers and springs. This change in soil cover makes the BAP less resilient in these dry seasons.

2) What are the main economic, social and ecological impacts that this serious water reduction can cause?

Among the economic impacts we can mention the loss of livestock production, as water scarcity can reduce crop productivity and the availability of pasture for livestock. Another point is the cost of containing fires. Drought increases vulnerability to fire, which can cause significant damage to rural properties, infrastructure, and vegetation. The costs of fighting fires and recovering affected areas are high. In addition, there is also a reduction in fishing. The decline in water bodies directly affects what is a vital economic activity for many local communities.

In the social aspect, the reduction in agricultural and fishing production can lead to food insecurity for local communities that depend on these resources for their daily food, which can result in the displacement of communities.

On the ecological side, the loss of water surface in Pantanal has an impact on fauna and flora, with loss of biodiversity and reduction of habitat, as many species of plants and animals depend directly on aquatic environments. Water reduction can also reduce the availability of food resources, affecting the local food chain.

3) How can innovation and technology be used in water management adaptation strategies in Pantanal? Can you give some examples?

Innovation and technology can contribute in different ways. For example:

• Can be used in monitoring and forecasting, through soil moisture and water level sensors;
• Satellites and drones to detect fire outbreaks and monitor the expansion of areas;
• Real-time images;
• Climate prediction models: prevention of drought events and changes in precipitation patterns;
• Efficient management of water resources;
• Sustainable water management, with the implementation of agricultural and livestock practices that use water more efficiently and sustainably;
• Protection of natural areas, establishment and maintenance of protected areas to preserve critical habitats.
• Environmental Education: encouraging awareness on the importance of water and biodiversity conservation.