Larger than England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain combined, the Cerrado is today one of the ecosystems most threatened in the world, 50% devastated by the deforestationI’agriculture intensive and themining. To believe that Man does not support beauty…
Transition zone to Amazon forestthis wooded savannah is mainly located in Brazil of which it covers 22% of the area. The Cerrado stretches from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the center of the continent, spilling over into Paraguay and Bolivia. It is one of biomes the richest and oldest in the world, 25 types of phyto-physiognomy are recognized. land of contrasts landscaped, without half measures, this territory knows only two seasonsthe dry season and the monsoon Brazilian.
This region plays a role of collector and distributor of water where the most important watersheds from Brazil. Nine out of ten Brazilians use electricity generated by water from the Cerrado. Cascades and waterfalls are characteristic of its landscape, especially in Chapada National Park back Veadeiros in the State of Goiás, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco with that of Emas. It is said of the Cerrado that it is an upside-down forest thanks to the nature of the soil and the roots of the small plants which form a very deep network, about 70% of the biomass is underground.
These are two million square kilometers of vegetation, highly coveted and threatened by intensive agriculture: 50% of its territory has been converted by Man who has made it, among other things, his ” soy barn “. There remains, still intact, only 20% of the original vegetation and less than 3% of its area is currently protected by law, while the Cerrado is home to nearly 5% of the biodiversity worldwide: no less than 160,000 species of plants and animals, endemic or in the process ofextinctionvulnerable or threatened.
While the protection of Amazon forest focused the attention of the international media, the Cerrado, with its terrain easier to clear, was discreetly, between 2002 and 2008, twice as laminated as the Amazon. All the more easily since the land belongs mainly to private owners.
The Cerrado, unknown until 2000, was propelled onto the international scene during the conference Climate of Copenhagen in 2009. Reclassified as a remarkable biome, it has become a subject of major environmental concern, also having to reconcile agribusiness with a sustainable agro-industry and the protection of indigenous people (Native Americans, Quilombolas).
Despite late recognition, today Brazil pledged by 2020 to reduce by 40% the deforestation illegal with a new forestry code and placed at the center of its strategy the fight against climate change. The final provisions should encourage the creation of private natural heritage reserves. Marcio Cabralwhose photos have often been awarded, takes us to these lands to reveal unreal beautyas extraordinary as it is fragile.
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