To support the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of projects aimed at preserving the biodiversity of the ‘Cerrado’, as the Brazilian savannah biome is known, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), an NGO dedicated to protecting nature which is present in over 30 countries, has implemented a series of projects in the region. In 2008, it ordered a Financial Sustainability Program of the Cerrado to be carried out by Funbio.

Covering an area of approximately two million square kilometers, with over ten thousand plant species,  45% of which are exclusive to the Brazilian Central Plateau, the Cerrado covers over 20% of the country’s surface and feeds into three of the largest river basins in South America. Home to the world’s richest savannah in terms of biodiversity, the Cerrado is, paradoxically, one of the least protected natural areas on the planet. Only 1% of its territory is within areas of national parks and conservation units. As a result, over 48.2% of the original vegetation – almost a million square kilometers (km²) – have been transformed by the pressures of expanding production activities, such as soy and sugar cane, and cattle farming. In the last six years alone, deforestation has wiped out 127 thousand km² of Cerrado, according to current data published by the Ministry of Environment.

The deforestation of the Cerrado is currently progressing at a rate of 20 thousand km² per year – twice that of the Amazon region, which is expected to be under 10 thousand km² this year. A financial strategy is urgently needed to preserve this important biome.

Contact:
Manoel Serrão – project coordinator at Funbio
manoel@funbio.org.br