Rio Adentro - PhMuseum

The Paraná Delta is one of the most biodiverse and important ecosystems in Latin America. Furthermore, this region is characterized by a lot of productive activity, taking into account that it is crossed by the Paraná River, a main commercial waterway for several countries. Unfortunately, it is currently undergoing the worst transformations in history.

The Paraná River, being one of the most extensive and abundant rivers on the planet, is going through the worst descent in history. This has a negative impact on the fauna and flora, but also brings very serious consequences for the thousands of people who depend on the river to live. This unprecedented and prolonged descent of the river caused the disappearance of lagoons, streams and other waterways, leaving entire communities living in the river trapped and making it impossible to access nearby cities in search of supplies and medicines.

In addition, with this current situation, the valuable and vital resource of water is becoming scarce, further endangering the health of the entire community that inhabits this ecosystem.

But this is not the only problem facing this ecosystem. Since the beginning of the year, the entire Paraná Delta has been devastated by fire. The fires have already destroyed more than 400,000 hectares, which is approximately 16 times the area of Buenos Aires. The magnitude of the fires caused in the region leaves multiple consequences such as animal mortality and habitat loss, soil impoverishment, water and air pollution, in addition to representing a very high risk to the livelihoods of people living on the islands. Never before in history has there been so much destruction in this important ecosystem. The 40,000 heat waves that have been registered since January in the region have revealed the worst socio-environmental crisis in the area. In addition to the enormous loss of biodiversity, water contamination and soil erosion will take more than a decade to recover. In addition, the smoke that for months invaded the daily lives of the inhabitants of the riverbanks contaminated the air in a way never before recorded, further worsening the delicate health situation brought to the world by the coronavirus.