What Should Be Done?

To improve human impacts on the Cerrado, existing government regulations requiring 20% of the farmers' land to be forested must be fully enforced. Additional protected areas and national parks preserving the natural ecosystem should be instituted in advance of soybean frontiers as well as stricter government regulations concerning land use. The expansion of soybean production has been artificially induced by government subsidies. If these were eliminated, or at least reduced, natural demand for soybeans would clear the market to reach a true equilibrium of production. Because little is known of the environmental issues in the Cerrado, studies and experiments highlighting the growing consequences of altered land should be performed. Farmers should discover ways to raise cattle and produce soybeans on already cleared land, eliminating the need for small farmers to clear more land from the natural biome. Finally, the large-scale production of soybeans should be transformed to sustainable, small-scale production, employing more natives and decreasing the need for harmful agrochemicals. If some or all of these steps are done in conjunction, I think Brazil can slow and eventually reverse the human impacts on the Cerrado.