Saving the Cerrado: From pledges to action
The Cerrado, Brazil’s tropical savanna, is under high pressure. The increasing global demand for soy and beef takes a heavy toll on the Cerrado biome. It’s nature rapidly disappears and is replaced by agriculture. Products made in the Cerrado area — such as soy — are used in the supply chains of global food companies. As from January 2018, 61 of these companies have signed a Manifesto to put a halt to deforestation in the Cerrado.
The Cerrado is one of world’s most diverse biomes. This massive tropical savanna is the home of the maned wolf, jaguar, giant anteater, 248 other mammal and 856 bird species. The vegetation is rich and unique, 35% of the plant species is only found in the Cerrado. It is the neighbor of the Amazon Rainforest, and with its 2 million km² the Cerrado covers over one fifth of Brazil and also reaches into Bolivia and Paraguay. This mosaic of habitats is however under high pressure.
Forest converted to farms
Farms are expanding their agricultural borders, at the price of the natural ecosystem. Especially soybean plantations, cattle ranches and charcoal production have their footprint in the Cerrado. At this stage, half the Cerrado has been converted to agriculture. Because of deforestation in Cerrado, habitats of endangered fauna disappears and greenhouse gases emissions are elevated.
In 2017, large companies pledged to halt deforestation and native vegetation loss in the Cerrado. Amongst others Ahold Delhaize, McDonalds and Unilever signed their commitment. In January 2018, a next milestone was reached: over 61 major companies have signed this Manifesto to save the Cerrado. And this number is growing.
Companies use products from the Cerrado area in their supply chain. Soy, for example, is widely used as feed for cattle and other animals in the bio industry. Together, these companies could leverage their influence to halt deforestation and conserve of this extraordinary savanna.
Time for action
Thus, the moment of truth has arrived: What actions will follow these commitments? Time, money and effort is needed. Creating transparency and traceability of their full supply chain is one of the top priorities in this. In the current situation, many companies do not know where exactly their products come from. If this traceability is not in place, a company cannot know if for example the soy they use is actually deforestation free. Working together with international and local stakeholders is needed to turn the current trend of deforestation around.
Data-driven intelligence can help in monitoring what is actually happening in the Cerrado. 20tree.ai uses artificial intelligence in combination with high-resolution satellite imagery to provide forest intelligence. As one of the winners of the DigitalGlobe GBDX for Sustainability Challenge, 20tree.ai will focus the coming two months on developing intelligence about what is happening in the Cerrado. Where are agricultural borders expanding and at the cost of what? What areas are predicted to be deforested if no action taken? An actionable view from the sky can act as a stepping stone for these 61 companies to work together in stopping deforestation.
Sources
- https://www.cepf.net/sites/default/files/cerrado-ecosystem-profile-en-updated.pdf
- https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots/cerrado/species
- https://www.tfa2020.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Press-release-marking-the-significant-increase-in-company-signatories-to-the-Cerrado-Manifesto-Statement-of-Support-25-Jan-2018.pdf
- https://discover.digitalglobe.com/
