Pantanal Wetland

About Pantanal Wetland:

• It is the world’s largest tropical wetland. 
• Location: 
  • It is located in the upper Paraguay River basin, the Pantanal straddles Brazil’s border with Bolivia and Paraguay.
  • About 80 percent of the Pantanal is in Brazil.
• It’s a 185,000-square-kilometer (71,000-square-mile) mosaic of grassland swamps fed byrivers, streams, and seasonal floods and dense, low-forested savanna.
• It was developed in a structural basin formed as the Andes Mountains rose. 
• The climate is tropical, wet, and dry.
• It is one of the most biologically rich environments on the planet, with more than 4,700 plant and animal species.
• Fauna:
  • Noteworthy animals include the jaguar, giant otter, giant armadillo, marsh deer, pampas deer, and hyacinth macaw (the biggest parrot on the planet).
  • It has the largest concentration of crocodiles in the world, with approximately 10 million caimans.
• In 2000, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared a small portion of the Pantanal a World Heritage Site.
• Around 95% of the Pantanal is under private ownership, the majority of which is used for cattle grazing.

Q1: What is a UNESCO World Heritage?

A World Heritage Site (WHS) is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by UNESCO under the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. These sites are designated by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, scientific or other forms of significance.

Source: Fire Ravages World's Largest Tropical Wetland in Brazil | Residents Call Pantanal Wetland an Inferno