Brasil de Fato<\/p>\n
More than half of the total area deforested in Brazil <\/a>by 2023 is in the Cerrado. Over 38 years, from 1985 to 2023, the biome lost 38 million hectares, representing a 27% reduction in its original vegetation. Eight of the ten most deforested municipalities in 2023 are in the Cerrado. This data comes from the MapBiomas platform, which uses satellite images to gather information on Brazilian biomes, and the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM, in Portuguese). \u00a0<\/p>\n Deforestation<\/a> is progressing mainly in the area known as Matopiba, which spans the states of Maranh\u00e3o, Tocantins, Piau\u00ed, and Bahia. This region includes S\u00e3o Desid\u00e9rio also in Bahia state, the most deforested municipality in the country in 2023, losing 40,052 hectares of vegetation. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMatopiba is one of the areas with the most native vegetation in the Cerrado, but it is also the most threatened, undergoing a very rapid process of converting native vegetation to other uses,\u201d explains Ane Alencar, Director of Science at IPAM and coordinator of MapBiomas\u2019 Cerrado team. \u00a0<\/p>\n Most of the deforested areas in Matopiba are now pastures. \u201cHowever, there is an increasing area of plantations, particularly agricultural crops like soybeans,\u201d Alencar points out. Currently, 26 million hectares of the Cerrado are used for agriculture, with 75% of this area dedicated to soybean cultivation<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n Devastation in the biome is supported by the Forest Code, which requires private properties in the Cerrado to preserve at least 20% of their native vegetation. Another factor favoring deforestation is the small number of protected areas in the biome, such as Conservation Units (UCs), where stricter rules for land use apply. \u00a0<\/p>\n