Mar 22, 2010
New Effort Launched To Reduce Deforestation In The Cerrado Region Of Brazil
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The Brazilian government continues to initiate programs designed to reduce the amount of deforestation in not only the Amazon Region, but also in the cerrado regions (savanna) of Brazil as well. Brazil's environmental Minister, Carlos Minc, is championing the latest effort. Recently in Brasilia, the Minister announced a new program targeted specifically at the cerrado regions of Brazil. The new plan is called: A Plan of Action for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation and Burning in the Cerrado (O Plano de Acao para Prevencao e Controle do Desmatamento e das Queimadas no Cerrado - PPCerado) will be part of a presidential decree designed to reduce deforestation in the cerrado by 40% by the year 2012.
The cerrado region of Brazil occupies approximately 2,036,448 square kilometers of Brazil or approximately 24% of Brazil's total land area. Most of the cerrado is found in ten Brazilian states namely: Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goias, Tocantins, Maranhao, Bahia, Piaui, Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, and Parana. As part of the new program, the Environmental Minister listed the top 20 municipalities in Brazil where the most deforestation of the cerrado occurred between 2002 and 2008. Of the top 20, seven are located in the state of Mato Grosso. They include the municipalities of Paranatinga, Brasnorte, Nova Ubirata, Sapezal, Nova Mutum, Sao Jose do Rio Claro, and Santa Rita do Trivelato. For those unfamiliar with the cities of Mato Grosso, many of these municipalities are prime soybean producing regions of the state.
As a way to implement the system, the government is going to institute a monitoring system similar to what they are setting up for cattle ranches in the Amazon Region. Satellite photos will be used to determine if any illegal clearing has occurred and financial penalties and incentives will be used to encourage adherence to the country's environmental laws.
The principal reasons for clearing the cerrado include cattle ranching row crop production, and the production of charcoal used in the steel industry. As part of his proposal to limit land clearing in the cerrado, Minc also proposed that starting in 2013, the steel industry be limited to using only charcoal derived from trees planted for that specific purpose. In their native state, the soils of the cerrado are very low in nutrients, but when the deficiencies are corrected with agricultural limestone and fertilizers, they can be very productive.