Reuters – Deforestation in Brazil’s Cerrado savanna rose to a seven-year high, government data showed recently, destroying a vital habitat for threatened species and releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gases that drive climate change.
Destruction of native vegetation rose 25 per cent to 10,689 square kilometres, an area larger than Lebanon. The data from space research agency Inpe is for the 12 months through July, compared with the previous period.
Reuters first reported the surging destruction of the biome, citing sources. Brazil’s official deforestation statistics run from August to July to minimize clouds obscuring the destruction.
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The Cerrado, the world’s most species-rich savanna, has given way to Brazil’s expanding agricultural frontier for decades. Roughly half of the savanna’s vegetation has already been destroyed, with much of it converted to farms and ranches.
The European Union recently agreed on a law to prohibit companies from selling agricultural products linked to deforestation, which would apply to the Amazon rainforest but excluded much of the Cerrado.
