Combating deforestation in the Cerrado requires a specific plan, warns WWF

Deforestation alerts break record in Cerrado

The Amazon and Cerrado present opposite situations regarding deforestation. According to the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), deforestation alerts reached a record in the Cerrado, the second largest biome in the country. In the Amazon, alerts reached the lowest rate in four years. 🌳

From January to July, Deter deforestation warnings increased by 21% in the Cerrado. Between August 2022 and July this year, more than 6.359 square kilometers were deforested in the biome, most of them in the Matopiba region, which covers Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia. In July this year alone, 612 km² were deforested in the Cerrado, an increase of 26% compared to July 2022. 

“The data points to a very critical situation of destruction in the Cerrado. We are facing a very worrying scenario and with several reports of negative impacts, such as loss of water resources and biodiversity, in addition to the entire violent process of expulsion of local communities, which is associated with the deforestation of the biome”, assesses Ana Carolina Crisóstomo, specialist of WWF-Brazil Conservation.

According to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, the fourth phase of the Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation and Burning in the Cerrado Biome (PPCerrado) should be launched in October this year.

“This increase we have had requires us to have a much more articulated strategy within the scope of PPCerrado. The dynamics of the destruction of the Cerrado is causing immense environmental, but also economic and social, damage”, said Minister Marina Silva. 

According to WWF, the Cerrado has already lost more than 50% of its native vegetation cover and is home to approximately 25 million people, including around 80 indigenous ethnicities and several quilombola communities. “The biome is Brazil’s great water tank, and the loss of its vegetation cover will have severe impacts on agricultural production and supply to large urban centers”, assesses the entity. 

For WWF, in addition to PPCerrado, greater commitment from the states will be necessary, especially in the Matopiba region (Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia), to reverse this trend.

Amazon 

On the other hand, WWF assesses that Inpe's numbers in relation to the Amazon indicate that the Brazilian government haspromewith the fight against deforestation in the region, after 4 years of destruction. In July this year, 500 km² were deforested in the Amazon, a 66% drop in the area under alerts compared to July 2022. 

“For WWF-Brazil, stopping deforestation in the Amazon, alongside the fight against illegal mining and the creation of conservation units, is one of the urgent measures to save the biome and guarantee the survival of its populations”, says the note from the entity.

(With Brazil Agency)

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