Tuesday Rostrum’s May guest speaker, ecologist Nicolette Forbes took her listeners behind the scenes of the greatest swamp on earth, the Pantanal.
Touted as Brazil’s best kept secret, the wetlands of the Pantanal are home to an impressive variety of birds, mammals and reptiles.
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An ecologist and managing director of Marine and Estuarine Research in KwaZulu-Natal, Nicolette began her career as a lecturer at the then University of Natal working with mangroves in the estuaries of the province.
Her attention then shifted to the broader environment and for the last 27 years, she has focused on the investigation of estuary function and restoration.
In 2007 Nicolette received recognition for her work in this field from the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa) when they selected her for the Conservationist of the Year award.
Since then she has twice presented her work on the restoration project in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in Lake St Lucia internationally at the Society for Ecological Restoration Symposium in the USA.
Together with her husband, Professor Tickey Forbes, a fellow ecologist, Nicolette took members on a fascinating and insightful tour of the couple’s visit to the Pantanal via the Transpantaneira Highway.
Located in the tropics of South America, and considered the world’s largest tropical wetland, this relatively untouched ecosystem is definitely ‘bucket list’ material.
Her chatty narrative and slideshow of the region, had the audience intrigued and wanting to know more about the area and wildlife.
From capybara to jaguars, exotic parrots and macaws to the big-headed swamp turtle and caiman crocodile, Nicolette’s passion and enthusiasm took her listeners on a journey of discovery through the amazing mosaic of the grasslands and wetlands of the Pantanal.
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