Trouble in Paradise
People want to protect the parks near the falls. Yet, people are its biggest problem. Poachers come into the parks illegally. They take trees and animals. People accidentally injure or kill animals while driving through the parks.
Outside the parks, logging and clearing land for farms is a problem. When trees disappear, plants and animals lose their homes. Some species go extinct.
This sign says, "Iguazú National Park, Argentina" in Spanish.
Tourists take a boat tour of Iguazú Falls.
Water sources are affected, too. Building dams supplies electricity to the area. But, the dams also affect the water level in the rivers.
The Itaipu Dam is on the Paraná River.
Working Together
Protecting this place is hard. The falls border three countries. Each country has its own ideas on how to manage the land. They are trying to work together.
They are starting with the animals. For example, jaguars used to be in trouble. Farmers killed them because the big cats hurt their cattle. Now, the farmers plant corn instead of raising cattle. The number of jaguars has doubled!
In Argentina, people speak Spanish, so the falls are called the Iguazú Falls. In Brazil, they speak Portuguese and call them the Iguaçu Falls.
Jaguars are making a comeback in this region.
Ideas to make the parks better are working. The beautiful falls are worth seeing. And, they are worth fighting for.
This view from above shows part of these falls.