According to the Annual Report on Deforestation in Brazil, released on May 28, 2024 by MapBiomas, a collaborative network that maps and monitors land cover and land use in the country, in 2023 the Cerrado surpassed the Amazon for the first time and presented the largest deforested area among the national biomes. In this context, more than half of the total deforestation recorded in Brazil (60.7%) occurred in the Cerrado region, totaling 1,110,326 hectares. In addition, according to the report, most of the devastated area occurred in the region popularly known as Matopiba, which encompasses the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia, areas already known for land conflicts and violence in the countryside linked to the advance of the agricultural frontier for the production of monocultures such as soya.
Image 1: Location in each biome of the largest deforestation areas in Brazil in 2023. (Source: MapBiomas)
What is the Cerrado, anyway? Cerrado is the name given to a biome located mainly on the Brazilian Central Plateau and considered to be the second largest vegetation formation in the country, with an area of approximately two million km2, corresponding to 25% of the national territory. The region is one of the most biodiverse in the world, but it is deeply threatened and is considered one of the 25 global hotspots, i.e. a priority area for the preservation of biological wealth (Barbosa & Viana, 2014) and has a high concentration of endemic species under threat (Myers, 2000).
The most characteristic vegetation in the area is characterized by low trees with crooked trunks, deep roots and various adaptations developed in the face of the droughts and fires that frequently occur in the area. In addition, the porous soil allows water to penetrate during rainy periods and, due to the plateau areas, it has several river springs that are important for supplying national watersheds. Known as Brazil's water tank, the region comprises six of Brazil's eight major river basins: the Amazon basin, the Tocantins, the North Atlantic/Northeast, the São Francisco, the East Atlantic and the Paraná/Paraguay rivers (Scariot; Sousa-Silva; Felfili, 2005). According to Fernanda Ribeiro, coordinator of the Cerrado Deforestation Alert System and researcher at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), due to the high rates of deforestation and loss of native vegetation, the region has reduced its capacity to absorb and retain water, putting this wide distribution of water at risk.
Although at first glance it seems to be a biologically poor region and is often underestimated by common sense, according to ICMBio, the Cerrado has a number of plant and animal species similar to those found in other forest formations. According to the Ministry of the Environment and the Institute for Society, Population and Nature, more than 800 species of birds occur in this biome, 29 of which are endemic, as well as almost 200 species of mammals, 180 reptiles and 210 amphibians. Among the animals present in the region, we can find species such as the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), the giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus), the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), the greater rhea (Rhea americana), the blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna), the neotropical rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus), among thousands of other specimens.
Despite the Cerrado's biological and socio-economic importance, in addition to the growing problem of deforestation, there are countless other factors identified as threats to this biome, such as, for example, arson, agricultural and livestock expansion, environmental contaminants such as pesticides and herbicides, soil erosion and degradation due to incorrect management, and predatory use of species. In addition, the inefficiency in the application of environmental legislation and the lack of enforcement contribute to the intense environmental degradation to date.
In this way, given our role in preservation, there are simple measures that can be adopted, such as conscious consumption, support for small producers or those who adopt sustainable agricultural techniques while respecting the environmental balance, demanding compliance and implementation of effective conservation actions from the competent political bodies and, above all, supporting environmental campaigns that promote dissemination and awareness of the subject to the rest of the population.
Author: Luiza Torquato - Regional Representative
Comments