Current Human Impacts

In 1998 the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment suggested: "The expansion of agriculture and ranching, at the rate of three percent per year in terms of land cover, has already meant the economic conversion of 40% of the total area, with a total loss of the original vegetation" (Wolford). The Cerrado continues to hold its place as the leading exporter of beef and the second largest soybean producer in the world. This rapid economic expansion has been encouraged by large-scale farmers, newspapers journalists, policymakers and academics who argue that large-scale agricultural production is the only response to the savanna's natural environment. In addition, land is noticeably cheaper, up to as much as nine times cheaper than land in the US Corn Belt. Covering 68 percent of total deforested area in the Cerrado, cattle ranching remains the largest use of cleared land while 58% of the country's total soy production is done here. A growing threat today is somewhat paradoxical. With soaring prices of petroleum, scientists are moving fast to develop biofuels, one of which is ethanol. Current estimates show sugarcane planted area increasing from the current 3 million to 9.7 million by 2017.

What does all of this expansion mean for the Cerrado? Unlike the Amazonian deforestation, the effects of these agro-pastoral landscapes have been infrequently examined. There are few restrictions on the use of land or water resources, the area was not included for federal protection in the 1988 Constitution and the rules that are in place protecting it go mostly unenforced. All this combined has led to "serious environmental concerns about soil degradation, water contamination, increased CO2 emissions and loss of biodiversity" (Wolford). The biome's floodplain is exposed and susceptible to high doses of agrochemicals used to combat diseases, insects and weeds. The fact remains that while Amazonian deforestation is on the decline, Cerrado exploitation is pushing forward.