Waterland Research Institute

Waterland Research Institute

The Waterland Research Institute for Water and Land Resources, Inc., known internationally as the Waterland Research Institute, is a non-profit, inter-disciplinary, research, education, and conservation organization. Initiated as a project in 1997 and formally incorporated in 1998, its current foci are principally in the five areas of aquatic ecology, environmental conservation, forestry, agriculture, and engineering. The Waterland Research Institute’s primary concern and arena of activity is the Paraguay River Basin in South America, with particular emphasis on the Pantanal region and Upper Paraguay River Basin of Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay. The Waterland Research Institute is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

The mission of the Waterland Research Institute is five-fold:

To advance scientific understanding of the terrestrial and aquatic resources of the Paraguay River Basin, with special emphasis on the Upper Paraguay River Basin and the Pantanal;

To educate policy makers, stakeholders, local citizens, and key sectors of the worldwide community with respect to the nature, value, and status of, and threats to, the ecosystems of this region;

To promote responsible use of the ecosystems and natural resources of this region in order to maintain ecological integrity for generations to come while also benefitting the future needs of the human community;

To assist in developing the agricultural, forestry, and aquatic resources in a responsible and sustainable manner in order to improve the well-being of the citizens of the region; and

To develop global supportive constituencies for the protection and sustainable development of the Pantanal and other ecosystems of the Paraguay River Basin.

In addition to its basic and applied research function, the Waterland Research Institute conducts international conferences, symposia and fact-finding tours, publishes original papers, and coordinates a variety of educational initiatives. The Brazilian office of the Institute is working in cooperation with universities in developing certificate programs in the fields of Environmental Management and Field Ecology, and Institute staff are frequent guest presenters at international conferences. Senior personnel of the Institute manage a 12,000-hectare research site in forestry near Jardim, Brazil and the Institute is in the process of developing a research site in the south Pantanal. The Waterland Research Institute also serves as the main secretariat office in the United States for the World Conference on Preservation and Sustainable Development in the Pantanal. One of the Institute's goals is to build strategic partnerships between governments, business and industry, and civil society in order to make the Pantanal a twenty-first century model for sustainable development. The Waterland Research Institute has offices both in the United States and in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

Select Projects

World Conference on Preservation and Sustainable Development in the Pantanal
Pantanal Fact-Finding Tour
Publication: The Pantanal of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay
Special Seminar on Wetlands, State of the World Forum 2000
International Conference on Agriculture and the Environment in the Paraguay River Basin

Offices

USA Headquarters Waterland Research Institute P.O. Box 1008 Gouldsboro, PA 18424 USA (570) 842-0315 Fax: 842-5415 waterland@pantanal.org Director: Dr. Frederick A. Swarts	Brazil Office Instituto de Pesquisa do Pantanal Caixa Postal 74 Jardim, MS Brasil (067) 269-1430 Fax: 209-1125 33cities@terra.com.br Executive Director: Hideo Oyamada Director: Dr. Cesar Zaduski

Waterland Research Institute's Pantanal Field Research Station in Brazil