Although international and political pressures have made it possible to limit the degradation of the “lungs of the earth,” the ecosystems around us bear the brunt of agribusiness pressures. However, COP30 held in Belem could change the situation.
Two bulldozers pulled heavy steel chains weighing several hundred kilograms. Within minutes, all the vegetation fell and caused a deafening sound. The machine then erodes the soil to form a pile of dead trees which will be burned on site. Workers then worked to remove the roots and dump tons of limestone in the acidic soil. “The land that was previously just a mixture of ash and dust is now ready for monoculture”explain several researchers, in the article “Cerrados in chains: destroy the savanna, build the land”, to appear in magazines Engineering & Culture.
This land belongs to the Cerrado, a vast savanna that covers a quarter of Brazil and plays an important role in absorbing greenhouse gases that cause global warming. While all eyes are on the Amazon – where COP 30 is being held until November 21 – this little-known ecosystem bears the brunt of rampant deforestation and insatiable agricultural pressures.
With its diverse bushes and wild grasslands, Brazil’s Cerrado mosaic has always been in the shadow of its famous neighboring rainforest. “This ecosystem is often considered less important than the Amazon and its huge trees,” explained Ludivine Eloy, research director at CNRS. “But these are the most biodiverse savannas in the world and Brazil’s water towers,” complement geographers. This forgotten gem, amid general indifference, has lost half its original vegetation, according to data from MapBiomas, Brazil’s land use reference network. Gold, “If the Cerrado disappears, it will endanger the Amazon”warns Baptiste Vicard, one of the authors of a report on forest footprints by the NGO Envol vert, published in mid-October.
To understand the main issues surrounding Cerrado conservation, you need to take a step back. From the Atlantic Ocean to Bolivia and Paraguay, this giant savanna crosses Brazil and borders the southern Amazon. Its surface is equivalent to four times the size of a Hexagon. Greenpeace warns that this region is home to 5% of all known species in the world, including jaguars, armadillos and black howler monkeys. Around 900 species of birds, 200 amphibians and 260 reptiles have also been recorded there. But the best secret lies a few meters away. “The Cerrado is considered an ‘inverted jungle’, most of its biomass is underground”explained Ludivine Eloy. Its giant roots store 70% of the CO2 captured in the region and contribute to the irrigation of eight of Brazil’s twelve major rivers.
:quality(50)/2025/11/15/carte-bresil-cerrado-04-6918c2b862886477749511.png)
For hundreds of years, this unique ecosystem has remained protected from human attacks due to the difficulty of access and infertile soil. But since the 1960s and 1970s, the construction of the capital Brasilia from scratch in the highlands of the Cerrado and the country’s “green revolution” changed that situation. Massive deforestation is accelerating, fertilizer is being used on a large scale to “fix” acidic soils and vast tracts of flat land have been turned into giant circular soybean fields, irrigated by mechanical means since the 1980s.
“Agribusiness has taken over the land”analysis of researchers Catherine Aubertin and Florence Pinton in “Discovery of the Cerrado biome”, published in the French-Brazilian geographical journal Border. The Cerrado produces 47% of the grains (soybeans, corn, rice, beans, sorghum), 40% of the beef (50 million cows) and 36% of the milk in Brazil, according to their data.
In the early 2000s, when deforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado was ongoing, political measures, especially those implemented by President Lula during his first two terms in office, began to be implemented. THAT “lungs of the planet” must be saved, the international community insists. A soy moratorium was signed in 2006, prohibiting companies from marketing production derived from Amazon deforestation. “The Cerrado is not included, because the trees are not dense enough to be considered a forest.” explains Clément Helary, forest campaign manager at Greenpeace France. Results : “When companies commit to no deforestation, that doesn’t concern Cerrado.”
This two-level protection is also embodied in Brazil’s forest regulations. Therefore, the “legal reserve” that requires owners to maintain part of their land in native vegetation is 80%, compared with 20 to 35% elsewhere. Protected natural areas and indigenous lands are also less common in the Cerrado. Blessed bread for agribusiness.
“In the Cerrado, deforestation permits are being granted on a large scale.”
Ludivine Eloy, research director at CNRSat franceinfo
In a few decades, the Cerrado has become Brazil’s breadbasket, concentrating half of the country’s agricultural areas, according to MapBiomas. And although deforestation is starting to decline in the Amazon, biodiversity in the Cerrado continues to be attacked from all sides. The number of hectares of deforestation in 2024 will even exceed the area of surrounding tropical forests, even though the area is twice the size.
Despite lobbying by many NGOs, the Cerrado is not included in European regulations aimed at banning the marketing and export of products that contribute to deforestation. “We campaigned for this to be integrated, but this is not happening at the moment; we hope in the future this can be expanded”bitterly admits Clément Helary, of Greenpeace.
Will COP30’s spotlight on the Amazon also enlighten the world about issues in the neighboring Cerrado? The latest news from Brazil is quite encouraging. Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen by 11% over a year, the lowest since 2014, according to the latest official figures released at the end of October. The same trend is occurring in the Cerrado, although the number of hectares logged is still higher than in the Amazon. “We cannot be complacent. Our challenge is to reduce deforestation to zero by 2030”said Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva.
Brazilian President Lula also used COP30 to launch a fund, called the Tropical Forest Financing Facility (TFFF), which is expected to provide financial means to protect tropical forests from agro-industrial greed. But will the Cerrado be included? Researchers and NGOs intend to put all their efforts into getting this ecosystem recognized for its true value and trying to limit the massive attacks it is experiencing. “Regulation that helps protect the Amazon must be applicable to the Cerrado”explained Baptiste Vicard, from the NGO Envol vert.
Despite good intentions, this struggle is far from won. “There has always been a tendency to ignore certain ecosystems that are as important as forests – such as savannas, wetlands or peatlands”regrets Clément Helary. And COP also sees a conflict of interest. “The agribusiness lobbies are so well established there, they are funding their review and proposing their own solutions”warned Ludivine Eloy. And to add: “We should not swallow their speeches but keep our critical thinking based on facts.”
