Deforestation is increasing in the world's most biodiverse savanna

SAO PAULO — Deforestation in Brazil's Cerrado increased to its highest level since 2015 last year, causing experts to express concern about the status of the world's most species-rich savanna, a major carbon sink that helps to mitigate climate change, on Monday. Because of the deep roots its plants dip into the earth to survive seasonal droughts and fires, the Cerrado, which spans many Brazilian states and is one of the world's largest savannas, is often referred to as an "upside-down forest." Although the Cerrado is significantly less thickly forested than the more famous Amazon rainforest that it borders, destruction of these trees, grasses, and other flora is a major source of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions. According to the national space research organization Inpe, deforestation and other clearances of native vegetation in the Cerrado increased by 8% to 8,531 square kilometers in the 12 months through July, Brazil's official timeframe for tracking deforestation. That's more than ten times the land area of New York City, which is 783.84 square kilometers. Mercedes Bustamante, an environmentalist at the University of Brasilia, described the situation as "very concerning." Bustamante also chastised the government for releasing the deforestation figures on New Year's Eve without providing any context. Scientists believe the increased devastation is especially worrying given that about half of the Cerrado has been destroyed since the 1970s, largely for farming and livestock. Manuel Ferreira, a geographer at the Federal University of Goias, remarked, "You're modifying hundreds of square kilometers every year." "Only a few other regions on the planet have undergone such a quick transition." New plant and animal species are constantly discovered in the Cerrado, according to Ferreira, and many are likely to be destroyed before they can be researched. Deforestation in the Cerrado has been creeping up again since right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro entered office in 2019, asking for more farming and construction in vulnerable ecosystems after decreasing from highs in the early 2000s. Farmers are increasingly using previously cleared land in the Cerrado rather than deforesting entirely new areas to plant the cash crop, according to statistics released last month by a Brazilian soy lobby group. The Cerrado is home to more than half of Brazil's soy farmland. Bustamante and other scientists accuse Bolsonaro of inciting deforestation and turning back environmental regulation with his pro-development rhetoric. Bolsonaro's office did not respond to a request for comment right away. He has previously defended his actions as a means of lifting the country's interior out of poverty, claiming that Brazil has saved significantly more land than Europe or the United States. Ane Alencar, the science director at the non-profit Amazon Environmental Research Institute said that "The most obvious and direct sign of this government's bad environmental policies is deforestation."