According to data from PRODES Cerrado, the loss of native vegetation in the biome grew 25% in 2022, the highest rate in the last seven years.
Indigenous people, quilombolas, artisanal fishermen, pasture workers, coconut breakers, and various other segments of traditional peoples and communities have been warning about the threats looming over the Cerrado for years. However, the cradle of Brazil's waters remains neglected by policies that fail to consider the biome's political, social, economic, and cultural importance. According to data from the PRODES Cerrado project of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), released last Wednesday (13), deforestation in the Brazilian savanna grew 25% in 2022, covering an area of 10,6 km², equivalent to about the size of the city of Manaus.
This is the third consecutive year of increased devastation in the Cerrado and the highest in the last seven years, with emphasis on the states of MATOPIBA, an agricultural frontier with large monoculture production and agrarian conflicts. The region has become a center of persecution and violence against traditional peoples and communities and family farmers and presents the fastest deforestation rate in the biome. For Isabel Figueiredo, coordinator of the Cerrado and Caatinga Program at ISPN, the data is frightening and demonstrates the state's neglect of the biome.
“The data reflects what communities have been reporting and what no one is listening to.”
The advancing destruction of the Cerrado highlights serious problems for society as a whole. Responsible for a large portion of the river flow in eight of the country's twelve river basins, the biome is considered the most biodiverse savanna in the world and is essential for Brazil's water and energy supply. But the risk of water shortages is real if deforestation continues. This is shown by a study supported by ISPN and developed by geographer and researcher Yuri Salmona, released in November. According to the study, Cerrado rivers have already reduced their flow by 15% and could lose a third of their water by 2050, transforming perennial rivers, those that flow year-round, into intermittent rivers, those whose beds dry up during certain periods of the year.
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The previous week, the European Union approved a new regulation banning imports of Brazilian products produced by deforestation. However, the measure only considered the protection of forest ecosystems. For Isabel, once again the importance of the Cerrado for the planet's climatic, environmental, and social balance was underestimated.
New European Union legislation could increase pressure on the Cerrado in the next two years. When only one biome [the Amazon] is protected, deforestation is displaced to others, such as the Cerrado.
The coordinator also warns of the seriousness with which the newly elected government must consider the demands of the biome and its people, who are primarily responsible for what remains of the Cerrado standing.
"Now we need concrete action from the federal government. Lula needs to mention the Cerrado in his speeches, listen to the people of the biome, and put it on his priority list. Otherwise, we'll run out of water for drinking, production, and energy generation much sooner than expected."
About the Cerrado
Known as the "cradle of waters," the Cerrado is home to the headwaters of rivers in eight of the country's twelve most important river basins and the second-largest underground water reservoir in the world, the Guarani and Urucuia aquifers. It also supplies 70% of the water in the São Francisco River, which supplies the Brazilian Northeast region, and 47% of the water in the Paraná River, which supplies the Itaipu hydroelectric plant. Its waters are also important for Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay. Besides quenching thirst, its waters are essential for generating electricity in Brazil, whose energy matrix is based on hydroelectric power.
Check out the animated video that links the deforestation of the Cerrado to the reduction of water in Brazil.
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Photo of the article: Adriano Gambarini / WWF-Brazil