Transboundary cooperation in the conservation of water resources in the national parks of Iguaçu (Brazil) and Iguazú (Argentina)

• Grant number: 21/09349-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2022
• End date: December 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Geography - Human Geography
• Principal Investigator: Wagner Costa Ribeiro
• Grantee: Mayara Pecora de Araujo Vieira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

At the international level, cross-border areas are essential for integration between countries. In the case involving Brazil and Argentina, part of them are rich in biodiversity and, therefore, bring an opportunity for environmental conservation. The National Park of Iguaçu (NPI) and the National Park of Iguazú, from Brazil and Argentina, respectively, are transboundary parks inscribed on the World Heritage List by Unesco in the 1980s and have direct interference with the waters of the Iguaçu River through the influence of vegetation and its role in regulating the water cycle of hydrographic basins. In this stretch, the waters of the Iguaçu River suffer from low flow due to anthropogenic influences in the region, directly affecting the preservation and conservation of forests in both parks. Such levels of interaction are key pieces for transboundary cooperation, considering the benefits that can be generated in this integration, both in the economic, social, and, essentially, environmental spheres. These characteristics then reinforce the need for studies on the importance of transboundary areas from the perspective of a water resources policy that takes into account the processes that maintain forests. (AU)