I was born and raised in Manaus, in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest. The horizon was never far off: I was always surrounded by huge trees, luxuriant vegetation, animals heard but not seen, hidden as they were in the depths of the forest. So, imagine my amazement when I first arrived in the Cerrado for my field work: large open landscapes, impressive wildlife, but also huge monocultures that spread from horizon to horizon. I had never seen so much diversity in ecosystems over such short distances. I was so marked by that contrast and beauty that I decided to continue study and do my best to help protect the Cerrado throughout my career.
The Cerrado is a rich natural ecosystem located in central Brazil. It accounts for about 5% of global biodiversity, despite covering only 0.4% of the Earth’s surface. Many of the plants and animals found there cannot be found anywhere else. It provides essential ecosystem services to us all, such as trapping carbon in its vegetation and soil, and supplying freshwater. Besides this important ecological role, the region is also home to a mix of indigenous peoples and other traditional populations that have been living in this region for centuries.
The Cerrado, however, is also a large agricultural frontier. In the last 30 years or so, about half of its natural vegetation (at least one million km2 or 4 times the size of the UK) has been converted to large scale agriculture for producing commodities such as soy, corn and sugarcane, as well as to create pasture for cattle ranching. In my visits, I saw firsthand the constant struggle between remnants of natural vegetation and encroaching agricultural fields across the landscape.
As with the Amazon Rainforest, the Cerrado has suffered increased destruction and fires in recent years. For example, in 2019, there were more fires in the Cerrado than in the Amazon, though the latter were more widely reported in the media.
The consequences of this destruction are not only local. Given the Cerrado’s critically important biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides, its degradation affects regional weather patterns, increases the chances of drought, and exacerbates global climate change. The loss of biodiversity also affects wildlife populations, and traditional and local human populations that depend directly on this ecosystem for their livelihoods.
I could go on for hours describing the environmental and social consequences of losing the Cerrado, which include loss of unique species, unbalance of ecosystems, release of huge amounts of carbon to the atmosphere, loss of valuable freshwater reservoirs, loss of the livelihoods of traditional peoples, increase in droughts that would affect cities and agricultural fields, and so on. But many of you are probably aware of the consequences already. So, more importantly here is what you have to do with it and what can be done about it.
Many countries share responsibility for the destruction of incredibly rich ecosystems around the world, such as the Cerrado. The demand for food and other products that are unsustainably produced is one of the main drivers of the destruction of natural ecosystems and associated negative social and environmental impacts. The UK, for example, imports more than half of its food and around 80% of its fibre, requiring over 21 million hectares abroad every year to fulfil its demand for only a few commodities[1] - an area almost the size of the entire country!
The good news is that, if we change our consumer patterns and the set higher requirements for the products we buy we can positively influence a change in the way they are produced, so they don’t cause destruction of nature or impact local populations.
Right now, the UK and the European Union are consulting on new laws that would require businesses to ensure the products they import are not linked to deforestation or conversion of natural ecosystems. These measures won’t work alone, but they are a major first step to ensure we start shifting demand towards products that are produced in an ethical and sustainable way, that is they do not lead to further conversion of natural ecosystems, like the Cerrado nor drive other negative impacts on nature, climate and people.
So, I think that despite the terrible and heart-breaking news about the fires and all the destruction, we may have one reason to cheer up today. Governments are finally waking up to their responsibility and hopefully action will come soon. They need to hear your voice though. Responding to the UK and the EU consultations is critical to ensure they take action to stop contributing to this destruction.
You can voice your concerns by responding to the UK consultation here (deadline is the 5th October) and to the European Commission consultation here (deadline is 10th December).
Go ahead and make yourself heard. Conversion of natural ecosystems, whether forests, savannahs, grasslands or other wildlife-rich places, and human rights abuses in supply chains of the products we consume here, shouldn’t be and aren’t acceptable and we should all take robust action to stop it, including by adopting new laws.
Obviously, this is only the start of the journey, there is a need for more comprehensive action to stop deforestation and conversion, including further action from governments (e.g. collaborate with producer countries, finance sustainable practices), business (e.g. achieve clean supply chains, finance good practices) and citizens (e.g. make the right buying choices, demand action from companies and politicians).
For more information on what else you can do to help, please read the recommendations from our recent report here or, if you live in the UK, visit our call to action webpage.
[1] WWF’s 2020 report: ‘Riskier Business: the UK’s overseas land footprint’ https://www.wwf.org.uk/riskybusiness
*this article was originally posted on my LinkedIn account.
