According to government data released on Wednesday, deforestation in Brazil’s Cerrado savanna reached a seven-year high, destroying an essential habitat for threatened species and releasing massive amounts of greenhouse gases that fuel climate change.
In an area bigger than Lebanon, native vegetation destruction increased by 25% to 10,689 square kilometres (4,127 square miles). The information from the space research organisation Inpe is for the year up until July in comparison to the prior year.
The increasing destruction of the biome was first reported by Reuters on Tuesday, citing sources. To prevent clouds from obscuring the deforestation, Brazil’s official deforestation statistics cover the period from August to July.
The world’s most species-rich savanna, the Cerrado, has long made way for Brazil’s expanding agricultural frontier. The savanna’s vegetation has already been destroyed to a significant extent, with much of it becoming farms and ranches.
The Amazon rainforest would be covered by a law prohibiting businesses from selling agricultural products linked to deforestation, but much of the Cerrado would be exempt.
When asked about the growing destruction of the Cerrado, EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius suggested that protections be increased.
In an interview at the U.N. COP15 nature summit, he said, ‘We have a review clause in just one year, we will have a look at it. We will be able to respond fairly quickly if we notice patterns spreading to other ecosystems.’
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