Article originally published in Brazil of Fact.
Often overlooked in national and international conservation policies, the Cerrado biome risks being excluded from European legislation on deforestation-free imports. The content of the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union is also a concern, as it was drafted without due transparency and without considering the input of civil society. In response, Brazilian organizations presented actions at the 27th Climate Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh to support the public debate on the global importance of the world's most biodiverse savanna, and thus attempt to ensure the immediate protection of non-forest biomes.
Efforts are underway to include savannas and grasslands (classifications that characterize the Cerrado biome) in negotiations between Brazil and international trading partners. Present in Egypt with this urgent message for implementation were representatives from the Cerrado Network; the Institute for Society, Population and Nature (ISPN); WWF; the National Coordination of Quilombo Articulation (CONAQ); the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM); the Cerrados Institute; the Institute for Socioeconomic Studies (INESC); FASE; the newly elected federal deputy Célia Xakriabá; and other institutions and leaders of traditional peoples and communities.
The agenda of parallel events, conversations, and meetings reached its peak with the meeting between the organizations and the former Minister of the Environment and elected federal deputy Marina Silva. She heard about the Cerrado biome, reinforced the commitment to zero deforestation in all biomes starting with the next federal government, and received 77 draft documents delivered by the Climate Observatory for the environmental ministry to implement in the first hundred days of its administration, with the intention of restoring Brazil's credibility in the field of climate change mitigation.
The Cerrado occupies an area of over 2 million km², being the most socio-biodiverse savanna in the world, harboring 5% of the planet's biodiversity – half of it endemic – and about 30% of Brazilian species. The biome is of fundamental importance for water and energy security: of the 12 most important hydrographic basins in the country, eight of them originate in the Cerrado, which is also responsible for recharging the Bambuí, Urucuia, and Guarani aquifers, giving it the status of "cradle of the country's waters" or "Brazil's water tower". This title, however, is at risk.
An unprecedented and alarming statistic was released during the first week of the Conference: the Cerrado biome could lose a third of its water flow by 2050. This is according to the study. The heavy impact of deforestation and climate change on the streamflows of the Brazilian Cerrado biome and a worrying future, supported by ISPN. According to the research, the biome is expected to lose 34% of its water flow in the next 28 years. The study concluded that deforestation for agriculture is the main cause of this decrease, responsible for 56% of the impact. Up to 23.653 m³/s could be lost, which is equivalent to the flow of eight Nile Rivers.
Beyond providing water and energy, the biome's sociocultural richness is immense. Thousands of traditional peoples and communities live in the Cerrado, many of whom remain invisible on official maps. We are talking about indigenous peoples, but also quilombola communities, geraizeiros, vazanteiros, babaçu nut breakers, riverside dwellers, artisanal fishermen, fundo and fecho de pasto communities, gatherers of everlasting flowers, among other groups recognized by the National Council of Traditional Peoples and Communities (CNPCT).
Officially, there are currently 636 traditional communities in the Cerrado, according to data from the Palmares Foundation, Funai, and IBGE. However, a survey by ISPN and IPAM indicates that the real number of communities in the biome is 3,5 times greater than what government data shows. These peoples play a strategic role in biodiversity conservation.
Although it holds all this socio-environmental richness, the Cerrado is considered the "permitted frontier" and its territory does not receive the same attention as other biomes, such as the Atlantic Forest and the Amazon.
Only 8% of its area is covered by protected areas. In addition to being few in number, the existing conservation units in the biome are small in size and are distributed, in terms of area, across more flexible management categories – 62,9% of their area consists of environmental protection areas; 28,8% are parks and 8,3% belong to the other management categories foreseen in Law 9.985/2000, which establishes the National System of Conservation Units (SNUC).
Another factor unfavorable to the protection of the biome is the percentage of legal reserves established by forestry legislation. In the Cerrado, between 20-35% of native vegetation is protected as a legal reserve, while in the Amazon this percentage can reach 80%.
The biome is considered one of hotspots For biodiversity conservation, the Cerrado biome is crucial due to high endemism and strong anthropogenic pressures, especially the expansion of the agricultural frontier in the region. In the last 36 years, the Cerrado has lost 16,8 million hectares to soy. The devastation of the biome has already reached 49% of the native vegetation and continues to advance.
In the first half of 2022, an area equivalent to the Federal District was deforested, corresponding to approximately 472.816 hectares. During this period, more than 50 deforestation alerts were detected. Between April and June alone, there was a 15% increase in the deforested area in the biome compared to the same period last year: 291 hectares were cleared.
It is important for society to understand that keeping the Cerrado standing is fundamental to guaranteeing food security, water security, energy security, global climate security, and maintaining the socio-biodiversity of the planet. Indigenous peoples, traditional communities, and family farmers are essential for environmental conservation and climate balance.
At COP-27, we celebrated the public attention that was directed to the biome, but much more is needed.
This needs to translate into effective public policies for the conservation of savannas and grasslands as well. Following the Conference, it is essential that the European regulations under negotiation guarantee the inclusion of other natural ecosystems within their scope, and that public policies never forget that without the Cerrado, all other biomes are also threatened, including our Amazon.
We believe in a different development model, one that doesn't require deforestation of new areas anywhere, and that generates income for communities while conserving the environment and protecting traditional cultures.
*Patrícia Silva is a lawyer, holds a master's degree in Environment and Rural Development (FUP/UnB), and is a public policy advisor at the Institute for Society, Population and Nature (ISPN).
Raisa Pina is a doctoral candidate in Social Anthropology (PPGAS/UnB) and an advisor at ISPN.