British Charity Saves Environmental Wetland from Destruction

A British charity has recently saved thousands of acres of environmentally important wetland in South America from destruction.

World Land Trust bought the land in the Pantanal area of northern Paraguay, working in partnership with Guyra, a Paraguayan bird life charity.

It is one of a number of land purchase projects which the UK organisation, based in Halesworth, Suffolk, is working on.

The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world and includes parts of Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay.

Large parts of it are threatened by deforestation through logging and agricultural activities such as soy production, with one study estimating that 17% of its native vegetation had been destroyed.

It is home to some 3,500 species of plants, 650 species of birds and hundreds of species of mammals, reptiles and fish. Rare mammals include the giant anteater, giant otter, giant armadillo, jaguar and puma.

"There are many reasons why we should save the Pantanal," said Jose Luis Cartez from Guyra.

"Like all the knowledge we would lose if it disappears. For instance there are more than 300 species of fish that we know very little about.

"There are some reserves and national parks there, but they only tend to exist on paper. Deforestation there is very high," he added.

The Sid Templer Reserve, as it is now known, covers 3,600 hectares (about 10,000 acres) and there are plans to expand it to 10,000 hectares.