act that although the major lagoons within the site are State property, more than 85% of the wetland habitats (excluding these lagoons) is privately owned. Consequently, these sites can be changed without present legislation being able to prevent it. In addition, public lands are not necessarily adequately protected.
5. Current Status of the Bañados
As emphasised in the Uruguayan report to the Third Conference of Contracting Parties (Vaz-Ferreira, 1987), the ecological character of the Bañados del Este was changed prior to listing of the site under the Convention. As early as the mid-19th century, plans to drain part of the Bañados were developed. In 1885, it was proposed to drain 20,000 hectares of the area via the Andreoni Canal. Although this was dropped from service in 1930, a second canal (Canal Number One) was subsequently built between the Bañado de India Muerta and the San Luis river. In 1978, Canal Number One was continued, and a third canal (Canal Number Two) was built to link Canal Number One with the Andreoni Canal. Further, the India Muerta dam was built, covering 3,000 hectares in its reservoir.
Today, the principal government investment in the Bañados is coordinated through the Comisión Mixta para el Desarrollo de la Cuenca de la Laguna Merin which was established in the 1960s by the governments of Uruguay and Brazil to coordinate development investment in the basin of the Laguna Merin. Under the auspices of the Joint Commission, funding was obtained from the InterAmerican Development Bank in 1986 (US$ 27.3 M) for the electrification of the existing water pumping system and for the improvement of 860 kilometres of roads. This investment was designed to improve irrigation of 80,000 hectares of the region of the Laguna Merin. Following this investment, there are today proposals for further investment in water management in the basin. These include the construction of a retaining dyke for 70 km along the right bank of the Rio Cebollati; canalisation of the Estero de Pelotas; construction of a 40 km sump which will collect water from the San Miguel region and drain this to the Laguna Merin; a dyke to control flooding of the India Muerta. The total cost of these investments is estimated at US$ 50 M and a study is now beginning with funds from the InterAmerican Development Bank to identify the viability of this investment. At the same time, an environmental impact study will be carried out. However, this will last for only six months.
6. Environmental Impact and Wise Use of the Bañados del Este
There is little doubt that the Bañados del Este have enormous economic potential. The fertile soils currently support a major proportion of the countrys rice production, which is valued at a total of US$ 80 M in export earnings. Further, the Bañados are extremely important in cattle production which in 1983 contributed some US$ 250 M to the national economy. In addition, between the years 1976 and 1986, Uruguay exported Coypu skins of a total value of US$ 52 M, and FAO has estimated that in the 1970s, some 40% of the rural families in the Department of Rocha benefited from the exploitation of this species. And along the coast, an important fishing industry depends upon the productivity of the coastal waters and the quality and quantity of freshwater inflow.
Given the range of benefits which the Bañados provide, and given the many ways in which the government might invest in exploitation of these resources, it is clearly essential that their full value, and the full cost of their loss, be determined prior to any large-scale investment. Future investment in the Bañados should be based upon such analysis and consideration of the ways through which investment can yield long-term sustainable benefits from the resources, rather than short-term profit. By means of such careful planning and effective enforcement of existing or new legislation, it will be possible to achieve effective integration of many different activities which can be carried out in the Bañados. While this will certainly limit certain activities, such limitatio