WWF Brazil's pioneering work with sustainable cattle ranching

in Brazil began in the Pantanal then expanded into the Cerrado

savannah, the Amazon and even beyond Brazil's borders

together with WWF Bolivia and WWF Paraguay. WWF Brazil

supports Certified Organic Cattle Ranching in the Pantanal

because it believes that this production model embodies the

values of environmental and social sustainability. We support

efforts to boost certified organic beef production in the

Pantanal, organic cattle farmers associations in their search for

market options; we stimulate the adoption of better

management practices; articulate with various segments of the

organic beef production chain; and publicise organic beef as a

responsible consumption option and healthy food alternative.

WWF.ORG.BR

A STORY THATBEGAN IN 2003

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Located in a cross country boarding region, the basin is highly

relevant for nature conservation and object of an articulation

among WWF Bolivia, WWF Paraguay and WWF Brazil. In

addition to organic cattle ranching activities in the three

countries, WWF Brazil´s Water for Life Programme

collaborates in protecting river's headwaters that help to

make the Pantanal the world's biggest freshwater floodplain.

The idea is to ally sustainable development with conservation

of water resources and the biome's rich biodiversity.

UPPER PARAGUAY RIVER BASIN

SUSTAINABLECATTLE RANCHING:

10 years of pioneering work

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Cerrado Pantanal ProgrammeWWF Brazil

"Acting in an eco-regional context means working

with economic activities. Cattle ranching is a kind

that has great potential for low environmental

impacts and is compatible with conservation.

Certification stood out as such an alternative and

offers advantages to the farmers themselves. The

demand already existed so it was a natural step"

BERNADETE LANGE

Former coordinator of the Pantanal Forever Programme and responsible for the

beginning of the work with Organic Cattle Ranching at WWF Brazil

According to official figures,

Mato Grosso do Sul and

Mato Grosso states are

home to 24% of the entire

Brazilian cattle herds (IBGE

PPM report 2011) and in

2013 had a 36% share of all the beef

cattle produced in Brazil.

Mato Grosso do Sul herd: 21,553,851

Mato Grosso herd: 29,265,718

"The importance of WWF's work lies in its

contribution to raising awareness of the need to

change consumption habits and helping to ensure

that more rural landholdings take part in

organic cattle programmes"

EDUARDO RIEDEL

President of the Mato Grosso do Sul Agriculture and Livestock Association

10 YEARS OFCATTLE RANCHINGWWF – BRASIL

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2003• Start of WWF Brazil's work with

beef cattle, partnership

formalised with the Brazilian Association

of Organic Beef (ABPO in

Portuguese) and the beginning of efforts to support Certified

Organic Cattle Ranching in the

Pantanal.

2004• Beginning of the

partnership with Embrapa to work with organic cattle

certification together with ABPO.

• First Seminar on Certified Cattle Ranching in the Pantanal held in partnership with

the ABPO.

2005• First study of the market for Pantanal

organic beef conducted with the support of WWF.

• Launch of the publication The Certified Organic

Cattle Raising Scenario In the Upper Paraguay

River Basin.

2006• Selection of the first ten cattle farms to be supported by WWF Brazil in an effort to implant

certification processes for organic beef

production in the Mato Grosso do Sul

portion of the Pantanal in

partnership with the ABPO.

2007• Structuring of the

Organic Beef Production Chain.

• Participation in the BioFach

América Latina, the biggest

organic products fair in the region, and launching of

the First Catalogue of Sustainable Products

supported by WWF Brazil.

2009•

• Participation in the First Global

Conference on Sustainable Beef in

Denver (USA).

• Selection of 16 best practices for the

production of booklets and the

implantation of pilot projects.

Support for the creation of the

Sustainable Cattle Ranching Working Group.

2010•

• Implementation of best practices pilot projects on two farms in the Upper

Paraguay River Basin: Millenium in the Cerrado (photo) and Vó Tereza in Pantanal.

• Organic beef becomes part of the public school meals menu in Campo Grande (capital of Mato Grosso do Sul state).

• Participation in the Feicorte, one of the largest Beef Cattle Production Fairs in the

world; WWF Brazil the only NGO attending.

Beginning of the Exchanging Experiences in Sustainable Cattle

Ranching (WWF Brazil, WWF Bolivia and strategic partners).

2011• Holding of an

event to present and promote Pantanal's

Organic Beef in partnership with the

ABPO and the Planeta Orgânico

consultancy.

• Participation as an exhibitor at the Embrapa Cattle

Ranching Dynamics (Dinapec) event.

2012• Expansion of the best cattle ranching practices work to the

Sertão Veredas Peruaçu Mosaic of Protected Areas in

the brazilian Cerrado.

• Pantanal organic beef tasting at a dinner for

members of the Slow Food

movement and local authorities

of Abruzzo (Italy).

2013•

• Total area of certified cattle farms

in the Upper Paraguay River Basin

reach the mark of 120,000 hectares.

Participation in the construction

of the Latin America Regional Strategy for the Development of

Sustainable Cattle Ranching

and Good Production Practices.

2014• Partnership with the ABPO and the Brazilian company Korin to promote a

new product “Sustainable Beef from the Pantanal”

with launch scheduled for

this year.

WWF Brazil has a strong influence on the WWF

Network for sustainable beef work. The country is

a major producer and exporter and has some of

the greatest environmental impacts as a result

of production. The office helps monitoring and

developing better management practices,

participates in multistakeholder groups and

builds up relationships with key associations. South

America is a region where significant environmental

threats from cattle presents opportunities for

improvements in efficient production. It

increased from 3.000 hectares to more

t h a n 1 7 0 . 0 0 0 h a u n d e r b e t t e r

managment practices in a joint effort with

WWF Bolivia since 2010. The countries have a

leading role in the theme expanding it to Paraguay.

BUILDING STRONG BASIS FOR CONSISTENT AND CREDIBLE TRANSFORMATION

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