- Deforestation in Brazil’s cerrado, a wooded grassland that covers more than two million square kilometers and is the country’s second largest biome, fell 11 precent relative to a year ago.
- According to analysis by Brazil’s national space research institute INPE, deforestation in the cerrado amounted to 6,657 square kilometers for the twelve months ended July 31, 2018, which beat out 2016 as the lowest annual forest loss since at least 2001.
- Last year 7,474 square kilometers of cerrado was cleared.
- By contrast, deforestation in the Amazon has been trending upward since 2012, including a 14 percent rise this year.
Deforestation in Brazil’s cerrado, a wooded savanna that covers nearly a quarter of the country, fell 11 precent relative to a year ago, reported the Ministry of Environment last week.
According to analysis by Brazil’s national space research institute INPE, deforestation in the cerrado amounted to 6,657 square kilometers for the twelve months ended July 31, 2018. That is down from 7,474 square kilometers the prior year and represents the lowest loss since at least 2001.
By contrast, deforestation in the Amazon has been trending upward since 2012, including a 14 percent rise this year.
Forest loss in the cerrado was concentrated in the states of Tocantins (23 percent), Maranhão (23 percent), and Mato Grosso (15 percent). Most deforestation in the cerrado is for large-scale agriculture and cattle ranching.
Environmentalists are concerned that progress in reducing deforestation could reverse under the new Bolsonaro administration, which assumes control January 1, 2019. President-elect Jair Bolsonaro has campaigned on a platform that includes stripping environmental protections and curtailing indigenous peoples’ rights.
Scientists have warned that continued loss and degradation of the cerrado biome could significantly affect water availability in parts of Brazil.
