Building bridges between environmental and political agendas is essential nowadays in face of the increasing human pressure on natural environments, including wetlands. Wetlands provide critical ecosystem services for humanity and can generate a considerable direct or indirect income to the local communities. To meet many of the sustainable development goals, we need to move our trajectory from the current environmental destructive development to a wiser wetland use. The current article contain a proposed agenda for the Pantanal aiming the improvement of public policy for conservation in the Pantanal, one of the largest, most diverse, and continuous inland wetland in the world. We suggest and discuss a list of 11 essential interfaces between science, policy, and development in region linked to the proposed agenda. We believe that a functional science network can booster the collaborative capability to generate creative ideas and solutions to address the big challenges faced by the Pantanal wetland.

Http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/1980509820231O objetivo deste trabalho foi comparar os índices de risco de incêndios a partir de focos de calor e definiro mais eficiente para as condições do Pantanal Sul-mato-grossense, com base em dados meteorológicos enúmero de focos de calor. O trabalho consistiu na análise de correlação entre variáveis meteorológicas ea ocorrência dos focos de calor, bem como a comparação entre os índices de risco de incêndios: Angströn(B), Telicyn (I), Nesterov (G), Monte Alegre (FMA) e Monte Alegre Modificada (FMA+). Foram utilizadosdados meteorológicos coletados às 14 horas na estação Climatológica Principal de Nhumirim e de focosde calor da passagem noturna do NOAA (12 e 15), no período de 1999 a 2008. A velocidade do ventoe a umidade relativa do ar foram as variáveis meteorológicas que apresentaram maior correlação com aocorrência de focos de calor. Para detecção de qualquer grau de risco de incêndio, a FMA, o G e a FMA+foram os índices mais eficientes. Para a detecção de graus de risco de incêndio nas classes Muito alto e Alto,o G foi o mais eficiente, seguido da FMA. Considerando a alta probabilidade de acerto na detecção de riscosde incêndio em qualquer grau e também nas classes de Alto risco a mais, a FMA pode ser considerada amais adequada para estimar o risco de ocorrência de incêndios para a sub-região da Nhecolândia.

Legal reserve areas (LRAs) are a fundamental part of the Brazilian conservation strategy, together with permanent preservation areas. The LRAs are intended to maintain biodiversity and can be managed sustainably. When these areas are home to ecosystems that depend on fire and grazing, such as native grasslands and savannas, management practices that are suitable for their conservation and for dealing with the effects of global climate change should be adopted. However, this subject is still poorly discussed in Brazil, and public policies are not clear on this matter. This review article describes the grassland and savanna ecosystems in Brazil, the legal aspects related to the management of LRAs, the current and future climate scenarios, and the relationship between climate and fire risk. It also presents a review about the use of fire and grazing in grassland and savanna ecosystems, the legal challenges related to their application in LRAs, and the use of geotechnologies to monitor these practices. The conclusion is that grazing and fire, as management tools, are adequate for LRA functions, as long as they are practiced in accordance with legal and scientifically based standards to avoid the negative effects of their incorrect use.

The Pantanal is considered the largest continuous freshwater wetland in the world, and its sustainable use requires a unified conceptual framework. The lengthy process to establish public policies has contributed to the increasing vulnerability of the Pantanal. Given the need for a conceptual basis to help this process, we elaborate a list of eight basic principles based on the accumulated scientific evidence: (i) Consider the Paraguay River Basin a management unity; (ii) Establish rules that follow the concept of restricted use approach; (iii) Ensure the ecologically sustainable use of the Pantanal; (iv) Maintain the environmental heterogeneity and functionality in the Pantanal landscapes; (v) Maintain the hydrological integrity and connectivity; (vi) Ensure the environmental representativeness of the protected areas network; (vii) Provide economic incentives for conservationist use of the land; and (viii) Recognize and protect traditional people, their values, resources, and way of living. However, the elaboration of public policies should be a participatory and inclusive decision‐making process towards a more just and sustainable future.