Deforestation in the cerrado triples in October – 11/10/2023 – Environment

For the fourth consecutive time this year, monthly deforestation numbers in the cerrado broke the record for the historical series of the Deter system, from Inpe (National Institute for Space Research). The area lost in the biome in October reached 683.2 km² — equivalent to twice that of the city of Belo Horizonte (331 km²) and 203% above that recorded in the month in 2022.

At the same time, in the Amazon there was a 52% drop in the index compared to last year, with 435 km² of forest lost. The rate is the lowest for October in the historical series of the biome in the system, which began in 2015 (records for the cerrado begin in 2018).

The negative indicators for the cerrado contrast with the success achieved by the Lula government in combating deforestation in the Amazon.

Deter maps and issues deforestation alerts with the aim of guiding actions by Ibama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) and other inspection bodies. The results represent an early warning, but they are not the complete picture of deforestation.

This Thursday (9), data from another Inpe program, Prodes, was released, which are annual and considered the official deforestation figures in the country.

According to Prodes, from August 2022 to July 2023, the Amazon had 9,001 km² deforested, a reduction of 22.3% compared to the previous period. This was the first time that annual deforestation in the region was below 10 thousand km² since 2018.

With 198.6 km² of vegetation lost, Tocantins accounted for 29% of the area lost in the cerrado in October. The state was followed by Maranhão (129.3 km²), Bahia (74.5 km²) and Piauí (68.8 km²).

Together, the four federation units form the region known as Matopiba, which has stood out in recent years for being a new frontier for agribusiness, at the same time as concentrating the most conserved portion of the biome.

In the Amazon, 48% of deforestation in October was concentrated in Pará (211 km²). Next come Mato Grosso (67.6) and Amazonas (42.6).

Considering the year to date, Deter recorded a loss of 6,802 km² of cerrado. In ten months, the number is already higher than the annual rate for the biome since 2018. In the Amazon forest, 4,775.6 km² were deforested in the same period in 2023.

Unlike the Amazon, in the Cerrado deforestation occurs mainly on private properties. One of the reasons for this is that, according to the Forest Code, in the biome it is possible to deforest up to 80% of the area of ​​this type of property (or up to 65% in some locations, when they are in transition areas to the Amazon forest). In the Amazon, the limit is 20%.

The cerrado is the second largest Brazilian biome and accounts for almost a quarter of the entire national territory (23.3%).

During the launch of the Prodes results, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, was asked whether there was the possibility of a migration of the activity of deforesters from the Amazon biome to the cerrado.

She stated that she has no evidence that points in this direction, but highlighted the legal permission for deforestation on private properties in the biome as a difference in combating the clearing of vegetation in the region.

“You will have to combat what is illegal, which certainly exists, but above all, [vai ter que] dispute development model. And then it comes to economic incentives, increased production due to productivity gains [ao invés de aumento da área cultivada]”, he said. “Science is already showing that, in the cerrado region, the rains are delayed by 57 days. This is highly detrimental to economic activity.”

The minister also added that the Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Cerrado, known as PPCerrado, is being concluded and that there is a mobilization by the government so that it represents a pact between the federal and state spheres of administration, together with the productive sector.