INTRODUCTION

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
- Our Common Future Oxford University Press

As the global population grows quickly past 6 billion people very close attention is being paid to the need to create a balance between developing the world's natural resources and the conservation of these resources in a sustainable way. Could the uncontrolled harvesting of the world's natural assets as a way of providing for the needs of our human population actually lead to the downfall of humankind?

One critical ecosystem currently threatened is the Pantanal of South America. As the world's largest wetland, the Pantanal contains an incredible number of different species of animals and plants. Your job will be to develop an answer to this essential question:

How is current economic expansion in the Pantanal changing the availability of resources needed for the organisms found there to survive?

By focusing on this essential question you will be able to gain the information necessary to develop a public campaign designed to convince ordinary people of the importance of the Pantanal. The hope is that they will, in turn, put pressure on the Brazilian government to create policies and regulations that will allow economic stakeholders in the Pantanal to live in harmony with the natural environment. This is at the essence of sustainable development.