Conserving the Paraguay-Paraná Fluvial Corridor in the XXI Century: Conflicts, Threats, and Challenges
IIIA-CONICET, Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Provincia de Buenos Aires 1650, Argentina
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Academic Editors: Denielle M. Perry and Ian Harrison
Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 5198; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095198
Received: 1 February 2021
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Revised: 6 April 2021
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Accepted: 18 April 2021
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Published: 6 May 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Durable Protections for Free-Flowing Rivers)
The Paraguay-Paraná river system represents a unique, free-flowing corridor that extends about 3500 km southwards from the Pantanal to the Rio de la Plata estuary, crossing four countries. The absence of fragmentation along the main channels and its still well-connected floodplains have preserved longitudinal and lateral functional and structural connectivity, defining critical ecological gradients for the biota and species life cycles. The lack of dams represents a noticeable feature that benefits migratory species supporting small-scale fisheries providing food security and the conservation of other ecosystem services with associated livelihoods. The ecological integrity of this corridor could be severely affected by the potential expansion of the Hidrovía Paraguay-Paraná for improving commercial trade, the foreseen installation of new dams in the Paraná basin, in addition to other current impacts and threats. Conservation of the corridor for societal benefits, involving the sustainable development of activities associated with the use of the fluvial territory, requires maintaining the natural ecological process that sustains livelihoods and biodiversity. This calls for innovative strategies encompassing water governance process, social and environmental information related to expected impacts, a better understanding of synergies between processes, and foremost an interdisciplinary approach to design and apply integrative and multi-scale management policies.
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Keywords:
Paraguay-Paraná fluvial corridor; Pantanal; Paraná Delta; structural and functional connectivity; Hidrovía Paraguay-Paraná; dams; connectivity; environmental flow; migratory fish
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MDPI and ACS Style
Baigún, C.R.M.; Minotti, P.G. Conserving the Paraguay-Paraná Fluvial Corridor in the XXI Century: Conflicts, Threats, and Challenges. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5198. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095198
AMA Style
Baigún CRM, Minotti PG. Conserving the Paraguay-Paraná Fluvial Corridor in the XXI Century: Conflicts, Threats, and Challenges. Sustainability. 2021; 13(9):5198. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095198
Chicago/Turabian StyleBaigún, Claudio Rafael Mariano, and Priscilla Gail Minotti. 2021. "Conserving the Paraguay-Paraná Fluvial Corridor in the XXI Century: Conflicts, Threats, and Challenges" Sustainability 13, no. 9: 5198. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095198
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