Cerrado Biome: For Conservation, Agricultural Production, and Social Inclusion in The

CHALLENG ES AND OPPORTUNITIES
FOR CONSERVATION, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION,

AND SOCIAL INCLUSION IN THE
CERRADO
BIOME
An assessment developed for
the Climate and Land Use Alliance by CEA Consulting
August 2016
MAP 1: BRAZILS CERRADO BIOME
AREA OF DETAIL
Brazil
Sources:
Reference layers: http://www.naturalearthdata.com/
Matopiba: http://www.ibge.gov.br/english/geociencias/default_prod.shtm
Cerrado Biome: http://maps.lapig.iesa.ufg.br/lapig.html
Photo: CEA
CONTENTS
About this report 2
Executive summary 3
Introduction 13
Proposed priorities 18
PRIORITY 1
Strong implementation
of the Forest Code 18
PRIORITY 2
Protection and management of
community and conservation lands 26
PRIORITY 3
Incentives for conservation 36
PRIORITY 4
Improved sustainability and productivity of
existing agricultural lands and pasturelands 40
PRIORITY 5
Cover photos:
Building the case for biodiversity
ponsulak/Shutterstock (soybeans)
Bento Viana/ISPN (palm and cut fruit) and landscape conservation 46
Paulo Vilela/Shutterstock (soy plants)
Peter Caton/ ISPN (baskets) Research agenda 49
Alf Ribeiro/Shutterstock (tractors)
Conclusion 51
ABOUT THIS
REPORT
This document outlines a set of opportunities that can contribute to

conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems, growth in agricultural production,
and support for social inclusion and traditional livelihoods in Brazils Cerrado
biome for the future of the region. It was prepared by CEA Consulting at
the request of the Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA), a philanthropic
collaborative of the ClimateWorks Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard
Foundation. It was supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and
the ClimateWorks Foundation. The intended audience for this report is the
full range of stakeholders working in the Cerrado biome; the recommendations
included here are not designed for any particular actor and in fact would
necessarily need to be undertaken by many different actors.
This report was developed through an extended This document is accompanied by several
research and consultation process, lasting from supporting documents that the authors hope
early 2015 to mid-2016. We reviewed dozens will provide a repository of information on the
of publications, drew from a broad set of data Cerrado biome. These materials specifically
sources, conducted roughly one hundred expert address and include:
interviews, consulted with approximately fifty
Biodiversity
stakeholders through three separate review
workshops, and conducted site visits. The authors Hydrology
are solely responsible for the reports content, Trends in deforestation and associated carbon
including any errors. However, the report would emissions
not have been possible without the many people Social and political contexts
who contributed to this project, and we extend our Trends in the agricultural sector
warmest gratitude for their help.
Funding sources
Corporate deforestation commitments
Maps of the region
These materials can be found at:
www.climateandlandusealliance.org/reports/
cerrado/
Suggested Citation: Credits:

Dickie, A., Magno, I., Giampietro, J., Dolginow, A. GreenInfo Network, maps
2016. Challenges and Opportunities for Conservation, Imaginary Office, design
Agricultural Production, and Social Inclusion in the Cerrado CEA and ISPN, photography
Biome. CEA Consulting.
Authors:
Amy Dickie
Iran Magno
James Giampietro
Alex Dolginow
Challenges and Opportunities for Conservation, Agricultural Production, and Social Inclusion in the Cerrado Biome 2
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
The Cerrado biome is a dynamic, mosaic landscape that spans the center
of Brazil. It is one of the largest and most biologically diverse tropical savannas
in the world, has a rich social and cultural history, is home to a wide variety
of indigenous peoples and traditional communities, and is an important region
for the provisioning of freshwater across Brazil.
Since the 1970s, agribusiness has been steadily and livestock sectors in the region through the
expanding across the Cerrado biome, contributing Agricultural Development Plan Matopiba (PDA-
to Brazils emergence as a global leader in agri- MATOPIBA) (Decree 8447, May 2015). Although
cultural commodity production. As a result, nearly the details of this plan have not yet been formal-
half the biome has been deforested.1 Continued ized, it clearly aims to spur growth in large-scale
agricultural productivity within the Cerrado that agriculture in the region, primarily through expan-
supports economic development and also works sion of transportation infrastructure. It has been
in harmony with thriving traditional livelihoods heavily criticized by civil society organizations for
and conservation of native habitat is important for being formulated with limited consultation and
the long-term health and prosperity of the biome. transparency and for not including social and envi-
Achievement of these multiple objectives will be ronmental representation on its governing body.3
challenging and will require a significant increase (See callout box on next page.)
in resources, attention, and political will devoted
to the region; however, the tools and frameworks
exist to achieve this vision. The health and pros-
perity of the Cerrado biome is a matter of national
importance. Given the central role that the
Cerrado plays in food and water security and the
regions rich social diversity and cultural heritage,
the Cerrado agenda cannot be separated from the
national agenda.
Today, Matopibathe northern portion of the
Cerrado where the majority of the biomes intact
native habitat is foundis one of the primary
Photo: CEA
agricultural frontiers in Brazil.2 This landscape is

the last great expanse of the Cerrado biome that
has not been converted to large-scale mechanized
agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA)
is actively supporting the growth of the agriculture
1.Rene Beuchle et al., Land Cover Changes in the Brazilian 4.Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), Ecosystem
Cerrado and Caatinga Biomes from 1990 to 2010 Based on Profile: Cerrado Biodiversity Hotspot, April 2016.
a Systemic Remote Sensing Sampling Approach, Applied 5.Agroecology is the integrative study of the ecology of the
Geography 58 (2015): 116127. entire food system, encompassing ecological, economic, and
2.Matopiba is named for the initial letters of the states that social dimensions. Charles Francis et al., Agroecology: the
compose the region: Maranho, Tocantins, Piau, and Bahia. Ecology of Food Systems, Journal of Sustainable Agriculture
3.Talise Rocha, Plano para Desenvolvimento Agropecurio 22, no. 3 (2003): 99118.
no Matopiba e Questionado, Observatorio ABC, October
2015.
PDA-MATOPIBA aims to boost the trend seen compliance with existing environmental and
over the last several years of large-scale agribusi- community rights laws;
nesses advancing into the region to produce soy reconciliation of long-standing land claims
and other agricultural commodities for export. At and disputes;
the same time, another vision for this landscape is
official recognition of traditional peoples
being championed by the traditional cultures and
and rural communities claims over lands and
historical communities of the Matopiba region
territories;
(e.g., indigenous people, quilombolas, extractiv-
ists, geraizeiros, ribeirinhos, and family farmers). secure land tenure for both private owners
This vision is for the continued development and and communities;
economic flourishing of a wide diversity of agricul- improved management of existing conserva-
tural systems across the landscape. Most of these tion units (including sustainable use and full
systems are small in scale, have been practiced in protection);
the region for generations, operate in accordance robust implementation of agribusiness
with the principles of agroecological production,5 commitments to zero- or zero-net-
and coexist well with natural habitat in complex deforestation supply chains;
mosaics. These communities, their lands, and their support for traditional agriculture and
way of life are threatened by PDA-MATOPIBA agroecological practices and markets;
and by the expansion of large-scale agriculture
generally. expansion of low-carbon agricultural practices
and sustainable intensification of pasturelands;
To build toward a future Cerrado that maintains and
ecological integrity, biodiversity, carbon stores, continuous improvements to monitoring and
and a diversified set of agricultural systems, the mapping of natural resources in the Cerrado
expansion of large-scale agricultural needs to be (including forests, native vegetation, soils,
both constrained and guided to areas where it will biodiversity, and water).
displace the least biologically and socially valuable
resources. Careful planning for the region should Effective implementation of these strategies
allow for large-scale agriculture to grow and con- depends upon leadership, collaboration, and
tribute to rural economic development in a way commitmentacross a range of government,
that harmonizes with other uses of the landscape private sector, community, and civil society stake-
and other economic development pathways. holders. It will not be easy, especially given the
current instability in Brazils political and economic
This report outlines five high-level strategies that, climate. Yet together, the strategies have the
if implemented together, can support multiple potential to create a resilient landscape that
uses of the land. These strategies require: balances social and environmental needs with
the economic potential of the region.
Geographic focus of these recommendations

Because of the current acute vulnerability of the significant benefits for biodiversity, water protection,
Matopiba region, we recommend prioritizing con- carbon sequestration, and agroextractivist commu-
servation and social inclusion investments there and nities. Restoration in the southern part of the biome
have focused much of this report on that region. is an important adaptation strategy since species
However, all of the strategies included in this report ranges are expected to shift to the south and east
can be applied to the entire Cerrado biome. Of the as a result of climate change.4 Because the southern
strategies highlighted in this report, the most rele- and western parts of the Cerrado also have so much
vant for the non-Matopiba portions of the Cerrado land in agricultural production already, efforts to
are 1) strong implementation of the Forest Code, 2) improve sustainable management of these lands
improved sustainability and productivity of existing (e.g., through pasture intensification and adoption
agricultural lands and pasturelands, and 3) building of low-carbon or agroecological practices) will be
the case for biodiversity and landscape conserva- more widely applicable than in Matopiba. Finally,
tion. Because the southern and western portions because the Cerrado plays such an important role in
of the Cerrado have such significant legal reserve the provisioning of water across the biome, the fifth
debts (see definition on page 18), compliance with strategy covered in this report must be undertaken
the Forest Code will be a major driver for resto- at a biome scale, not just in Matopiba.
ration. Restoration in these areas will produce very
PRIORITY 1
Strong implementation
of the Forest Code
Ensuring the legal protection of
natural ecosystems on private lands
Brazils new Forest Code (Law 12.651/2012) is the
leading environmental policy in Brazil, governing
Photo: CEA
management of native habitat and land use on
all land holdings. Although the new Forest Code
reduced the previous restoration requirement,
providing amnesty to many producers, it also
introduced new mechanisms for better compliance these extensions are necessary to ensure that
and for trading of legal reserves. Even with the small landholders are included in the CAR, delays
reduced requirements, compliance with the law also pose a risk of paralysis.
will restore 21 million hectares (Mha) of previously
cleared land and provide greenhouse gas (GHG)
Effective CAR validation and develop-
mitigation of between 7 and 11 Gt of carbon ment of sound restoration and com-
dioxide equivalent (CO2e).6 pensation platforms is necessary.
The validation of CAR registries and the reso-
Complete, timely, and equitable lution of conflicts within the CAR are critically
implementation of the Rural important steps that need to be undertaken
Environmental Cadaster (CAR) before further compliance actions are taken.
is essential for successful Given that these responsibilities will fall to state-
enforcement of the Forest Code. level agencies that often have limited capacity, the
validation process could also stymie implementa-
The CAR, a database that will hold information tion of the Forest Code. Technical support to the
about the environmental characteristics of indi- relevant state agencies from the federal govern-
vidual properties, is the first step in Forest Code ment and international donors is essential. At the
implementation. It is the top priority for a number same time, continued groundwork must be laid
of federal, state, and local agencies, led by the and momentum built to ensure effective compli-
Ministry of the Environment (MMA), as well as ance with the Forest Code once the roster of legal
the main sources of international funding to the reserve debts and surpluses is documented and
Cerrado (e.g., the World Banks Forest Investment validated. To that end, the guidelines and regula-
Program (FIP)). As of May 2016, roughly 91 per- tions that will shape restoration and compensation
cent of all rural areas were registered in the CAR.7 activities require careful design to deliver conser-
Although this represents good progress, more vation outcomes while being economically viable
time is needed to complete registrations, espe- for producers.
cially for smallholders. Many small-scale producers
dont have the resources to complete their reg-
istration, and there are technical challenges with Launch of the satellite monitoring
registering rural settlements and other types of systems for the Cerrado is essential.
communally owned land in the CAR. Two recent The PRODES and DETER systems that provide
provisional measures have extended the deadline. satellite monitoring for the Amazon have been
In May 2016, a provisional measure (PM No. 724) essential to the rapid reduction in deforestation
extended the registration deadline for smallhold- in that biome over the last decade. Comparable
ers to May 5, 2017 and in June 2016, a provisional satellite monitoring systems that provide both
measure (PM No. 733) extended the deadline for annual deforestation data and deforestation mon-
all rural properties to December 2017.8 Although itoring on a month-to-month timescale have been
pledged for the Cerrado, with support coming
6.Britaldo Soares-Filho et al., Cracking Brazils Forest from the FIP. This level of monitoring, along with
Code, Science 344 (April 2014). CAR registrations, will provide the information
7.Servio Florestal Brasileiro, Cadastro Ambiental Rural: needed to track Forest Code compliance in the
Boletim Informativo, May 2015. Cerrado. However, the monitoring systems are
8.Canal Rural, CAR is extended to all producers, June 15,
2016 and Servio Florestal Brasileiro, Pequenos Podero
now several years overdue; timely completion and
Fazer CAR Ate Maio de 2017, May 5, 2016. launch is important to the success of the
Forest Code.
PRIORITY 2
Protection and management
of community and
conservation lands
Photo: Peter Caton/ISPN

Recognition and titling of traditional
peoples lands and territories and im-
proved stewardship of native habitat
within all types of conservation areas
The Matopiba landscape is a mosaic of different
types of peoples and land uses: family farmers,
large-scale agriculture, indigenous lands, qui- part of federal and state governments (including
lombola lands, agroextractivists, and other kinds public prosecutors) to resolve land disputes and
of traditional communities. The Cerrado biome recognize community lands are important points
is often thought to be an open and empty land of engagement.
that is ripe for agricultural development, but in
Protected areas that are devoted to conserva-
fact much of the land is in use, either inhabited or
tion and biodiversity need to be expanded and
harvested and managed by one of the numerous
require better long-term funding and manage-
traditional communities in the region. Many of
ment. Currently, protected areas in the Cerrado
these communities do not have secure tenure to
cover roughly 8 percent of the landscape, less than
their land. Family farmers may lack legal title to
half the target established by the UN Convention
their parcels even if their families have ties to the
on Biodiversity (17 percent); 6.2 Mha (3.1 percent
land going back generations. Communally man-
of the biome) lie in strict protected areas and
aged territory (e.g., rural settlement, quilombola
11.1 Mha (5.5 percent of the biome) are in
territories, extractive reserves) may lack regular-
Sustainable Use areas.9 Expansion of this network
ized or formal recognition from the government,
is of key importance to the future of the Cerrado.
even when their rights to their lands and territories
The MMA and several conservation organizations
are protected by the Brazilian constitution.
have called for better support for existing pro-
Helping communities and family farmers secure tected areas and additions to the protected area
their claims and legal rights to the land is a key network, in line with existing analyses of priority
step in preventing unforeseen environmental and conservation areas published by the government
social risks from large-scale agricultural expan- and leading NGOs.10 Additionally, expanded
sion in the region. It is in this context of tenuous support for better management of protected
protections for their lands that the traditional areas should be a priority for the conservation
communities across Matopiba face new pressure and social agendas in the coming years. Currently,
from expanding agricultural crops and the PDA- sustainable use protected areas are suffering
MATOPIBA development plan. Support for from inadequate management, with deforestation
CAR registrations for traditional communities and persisting at rates comparable to areas not under
family farmers and renewed political will on the protection.11
9.Renata D. Franoso et al., Habitat Loss and the Use and Benefit Sharing of Brazilian Biological Diversity.
Effectiveness of Protected Areas in the Cerrado Biodiversity Update: MMA Administrative Ruling No 9, (Braslia:
Hotspot, Nature and Conservation 13, no. 1 (2015): 3540; January 2007); Mario Barroso et al., reas Prioritrias para
MMA, Unidas de Conservacao por Bioma, February 26, e Conservao do Cerrado e Pantanal, WWF Brasil (2013);
2016. CEPF, 2016.
10.MMA, Priority Areas for the Conservation, Sustainable 11.Franoso et al., 2015.
PRIORITY 3 and protecting community rights in the Cerrado.
Buyers of agricultural goods from the Cerrado
Incentives for conservation should demand compliance with the Forest Code
Ensuring sufficient incentives from and other laws (e.g., regarding labor and safe use
public and private sources for the con- of agrochemicals). Buyers should also demand
servation of surplus natural habitats on that producers avoid areas with high biological
or social importanceif not fully commit to zero
private and communally managed lands
deforestationand areas with social conflicts
The Cerrado landscape has great economic (e.g., areas with land tenure disputes or high levels
value as agricultural land. Prioritizing conservation of violence). Preferential or expanded market
requirements on both private and communally access for producers that comply with such com-
managed lands beyond the 20 percent legal mitments or policies is one incentive associated
reserve requirement of the Forest Code with this type of approach. Alternatively, corporate
(35 percent for the sections of the Cerrado that agribusiness leaders could engage with individual
fall within the Legal Amazon) will be costly and municipalities to help them develop robust instru-
will require financial incentives. ments for reducing deforestation and/or embrace
Credit is one of the most important tools for certifications as a way to provide incentives to
creating incentives for producers. Credit could producers for better practices.
be used to strategically guide expansion of crops Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES)
in the Matopiba area so that expansion avoids programs merit further development.
priority biodiversity areas and important areas for For example, the Forest Codes compensation
communities and is guided to areas that are best mechanism, the Environmental Reserve Quota
suited for crop productivity. This concept has (CRA), could be expanded to help capture
been successfully employed in Brazil already with voluntary funding for intact habitat in the Cerrado
the sugarcane agroecological zoning (ZAE Cana) (e.g., from corporate social responsibility
program, which was established by an inter- campaigns or downstream municipalities). This
ministerial group.12 Additionally or alternatively, concept, tentatively termed X-CRA, has been
public and private banks could offer preferential suggested by Brazilian academics who have stud-
access to loans or lower interest rates for property ied the CRA market extensively.13 Additionally,
holders that hold more land in conservation areas the Water Producer Program managed by Brazils
than required by the Forest Code or that adopt National Water Agency (ANA), an existing PES
low-carbon agricultural practices. These incentives scheme, should be expanded and targeted at
could be provided through broad integration of those areas of greatest hydrological importance,
conservation priorities into the governments agri- and PES legislation that has been introduced to
cultural credit programs, such as the Agriculture Congress should be considered.
and Livestock Plan, commonly called the
Other means of building demand for intact
Harvest Plan.
Cerrado vegetation should also be explored and
The private sector also has a role to play in supported. For example, support for agroeco-
providing incentives for farmers and ranchers logical production and agroextractivists products
across the Cerrado to both reduce deforesta- helps to promote sustainable use of the landscape;
tion and protect land rights for traditional these topics are covered in Priority 4 (See next
communities. Successful implementation of page.). Finally, strengthening the Cerrado as a
sector-wide deforestation and rights commit- tourism/eco-tourism destination could help pro-
ments, which are proliferating among large, vide incentives for protection of native habitat and
international agribusiness companies, could prove traditional cultures.
hugely important in reducing deforestation rates
12.Government-subsidized credit lines were established 13.Raoni Rajo and Britaldo Soares-Filho, Cotas de Reserva
through BNDES for entities wishing to expand sugarcane Ambiental (CRA): Potencial e Viabilidade Econmica do
production, as long as they follow the ZAE Cana guidelines. Mercado no Brasil (Belo Horizonte: Ed. IGC/ UFMG,
Sugarcane Agro-Ecological Zoning: Greening the 2015).
Expansion of Ethanol, Evidence and Lessons from Latin
America.
PRIORITY 4 Making better use of already cleared land
through sustainable intensification of pas-
Improved sustainability turelands is one of the best ways to reconcile
and productivity of agricultural development with conservation.
According to a recent study, Brazil could meet
existing agricultural lands demands for increased crop acreage through 2040
and pasturelands without any further conversion of native habitat
through intensification of pastureland and shifting
Encouraging sustainable intensification crop cultivation onto the freed-up land.17 This is
of pasturelands, mainstreaming low- an important strategy for the Cerrado, which has
carbon agricultural practices, expanding about 40 percent (almost 20 Mha) of the countrys
adoption of other sustainable practices, potential for pasture restoration.18 Government,
and supporting traditional agricultural private sector, and civil society actors should
products collaborate to provide the necessary training and
incentives to catalyze a shift from expansion to
Agriculture and livestock production are vital to
intensification in both the ranching and farming
Brazils economy, accounting for over 35 percent
sectors. Mainstreaming and targeting credits from
of the countrys export value and 21.5 percent of
Brazils Low Carbon Agriculture Plan (ABC Plan)
GDP.14 The Cerrado has the largest area of farm
or other credits for restoration of pasturelands,
and ranch land in Brazil, accounting for 88 Mha,
providing technical assistance and training, and
or 44 percent, of the total agricultural area.15 It
studying and promoting successful pilots are all
produces about 40 percent of Brazils beef, 84
important elements of an intensification effort.
percent of its cotton, 60 percent of its soybeans,
and 44 percent of its corn.16 Agriculture will likely Any effort to support intensification would be
continue to be an important driver of economic most effective if done in a way that ensures social
growth of the Cerrado in the coming years. and ecological sustainability and is coupled with
complementary instruments such as environmen-
tal compliance, land regularization, and supply
chain governance as a way of mitigating the
rebound effect. (See definition on page 40.)
The nearly 20 Mha of cropland in the Cerrado
could also be managed more sustainably through
broader adoption of low-carbon agricultural
practices and other ecologically and socially sound
production methods, including those typically
employed in traditional agricultural systems.19
Photo: CEA
14.Aron Belinky, Green Growth in Action Overview of 18.Another 10 percent (5.6 Mha) is found in the transitional
Innovative Country Strategies: Case Study from Brazil: Plano areas between the Amazon and the Cerrado and between
ABC, Centro de Estudos em Sustentabilidade da EAESP the Caatinga and the Cerrado. Ibid.
(London: October 28, 2014); The Center for Applied 19.MMA, PROBIO Land Cover Map (Brazil, 2002).
Economy, University of So Paulo. 20.MAPA, Plano Setorial de Mitigao e de Adaptao s
15.CEPF, 2016. Mudanas Climticas para a Consolidao de Uma Economia
16.Ibid. de Baixa Emisso de Carbono na Agricultura: Plano ABC
17.Bernardo B.N. Strassburg et al., When Enough Should (Agricultura de Baixa Emisso de Carbono) (Braslia: MAPA/
Be Enough: Improving the Use of Current Agricultural ACS, 2012).
Lands Could Meet Production Demands and Spare Natural 21.Note that the area covered by the Cerrado states is larger
Habitats in Brazil, Global Environmental Change 28 (2014): than that of the Cerrado biome, so these statistics overstate
8497. the allocation of ABC credits to the Cerrado biome.
Analysis of Resources of the ABC Program: Investment
Purposes, ABC Plan Observatory Report 3 Year 2,
December 2014.
Photo: CEA
Continued and expanded support for the Beyond its GHG emissions profile, Brazils
full range of low-carbon agriculture practices agricultural sector has much room for
promoted by the ABC Plan will be important improvement in terms of the overall
for the long-term health and resilience of the sustainability of its practices. There is much
agricultural sector and could help Brazil meet its that government agencies, supply chain actors,
greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets by con- and civil society can do to encourage more
tributing up to 166 million tonnes (Mt) of CO2e environmentally and socially sustainable prac-
by 2020.20 The ABC Plan provides the most tices across the agricultural sector, particularly
significant set of public incentives for the adoption with respect to the use of agrochemicals, farm
of low-carbon agriculture practices, in the form of labor, pollution of waterways, protection of water
dedicated agricultural credits (R$4.5 billion). In the springs, crop diversity, and conflict with rural
first quarter of the 2014/2015 crop year, roughly communities. Broad efforts should be made to
80 percent of the nationally available ABC credits reduce the negative environmental and social
were issued in Cerrado states, roughly 20 percent impacts of industrial-scale agriculture through
of them in Matopiba states.21 Support for the better enforcement of laws governing pesticide
adoption of sustainable agriculture practices in line use and labor standards, and through promotion
with the ABC Plan is a priority for international of best practices for protecting water springs and
funding programs in the region, most notably the waterways. Additionally, assistance for agroeco-
FIP. Still, a number of improvements to the ABC logical practices, small-scale production, and bio-
Plan could enhance its effectiveness, including diversity and agro-extractive products is needed.
expanded support for technical assistance, better Specifically, traditional and small-scale producers
training for the banks issuing the loans, and require expanded technical assistance, targeted
establishment of a monitoring program. It is also credit lines, and support for market access. These
important to note that while low-carbon practices forms of agriculture can help sustain native habitat
are generally positive, they are not always wholly and are consistent with conservation, social, and
environmentally sound. cultural priorities. Support for integrated crop-
livestock-forest production, which is part of the
ABC program, should also be expanded.
PRIORITY 5
Building the case for
biodiversity and landscape
conservation
Photo: alarico/Shutterstock
Highlighting and enhancing scientific
research on the importance of water and
its relationship with native vegetation,
and on the impacts of climate variability
in the Cerrado
There is mounting evidence that preservation of
native vegetation plays a beneficial role in main- to experience productivity disruptions due to
taining the freshwater flows and water springs that global climate change. These global pressures will
agricultural producers, hydropower producers, and amplify those felt from local land use change. Both
municipalities all depend upon. will have a warming and drying effect. A 2003
study that modeled the effects of climate change
Developing a more comprehensive body of
on Cerrado flora predicted that between 10 and
research about the relationship between hydro-
32 percent of the 162 analyzed tree species could
logical systems and land cover would be invalu-
end up without habitable areas in the Cerrado
able for planning efforts across the Cerrado.
region or go extinct by 2055.22 Additionally, over
Such a research agenda should focus on questions
half of the species were projected to decline by
of thresholds of native vegetation necessary for
more than 90 percent in the Cerrado, with major
healthy ecosystem function, impacts on neighbor-
range shifts to the south and east.23 Such range
ing biomes, and the economic effects of changes
shifts should be considered in future plans for
in precipitation patterns. Specific questions
restoration and protected area management and
include:
expansion.24
Is there a point at which the relationship
between land cover, weather patterns, and
hydrological function will see a step-change? Conclusion
Could deforestation in the Cerrado dry out The Cerrado is a vitally important region to
the Amazon? Brazils economy, traditional communities, bio-
What would a ten-day delay to the rainy diversity, hydrological resources, and climate
season mean for soy yields? mitigation and adaptation capacity. Agricultural
What would a 40 percent drop in river flows expansion and related infrastructure development
mean for hydropower generation? in the region, left largely unchecked, have the
potential to threaten many human populations
These questions have received some attention and ecosystem functions. Thus, it is essential to
from scientists and government agencies, but a adopt a balanced approach to development in the
more coordinated approach to synthesize and Cerrado, one that recognizes the value of agricul-
build upon the current state of the science would tural production, ecosystem function, and thriving
help many actors across the Cerrado. agricultural systems and economies for traditional
Adopting land use plans and agricultural communities. The opportunities covered in this
practices that can help the region mitigate and report are those that, based on our assessment,
adapt to the effects of global climate change have the highest potential to support an inte-
should be an important component of agricultural grated conservation, agricultural production, and
development and expansion of protected areas social inclusion agenda.
in the biome. The Cerrado biome is expected
22.CEPF, 2016.
23.Ibid.
24.Ibid.
Challenges and Opportunities for Conservation, Agricultural
Production, and Social Inclusion in the Cerrado Biome
INTERVENTION STRATEGY SUBSTRATEGY
1. Strong Timely, equitable, Support smallholders and indigenous and traditional

implementation robust, and transparent communities in the CAR registration process and
of the Forest Code implementation in resolving conflicts
of the CAR Capacity building for state-level agencies responsible
for registrations and verification
Development of a Develop restoration guidelines and policies that
strong post-CAR agenda balance economic viability and ecological integrity
Design CRA markets that promote transparency,
additionality, low transaction costs, and smart
compensation (See definition on page 23.)
Effective compliance Launch satellite monitoring systems
and enforcement Make CAR a precondition of agricultural credits
(public and private)
Technical support for state-level agencies responsible
for compliance
2. Protection and Land regularization Support smallholders and indigenous and traditional
management of communities in the CAR registration process and
community and in resolving conflicts
conservation lands Capacity building and legal training to support
family farmers in securing title to their land
Engagement of public prosecutors in resolving
land conflicts
Support for indigenous Recognition and titling of indigenous lands
and quilombola lands Recognition and titling of quilombola lands
and other communally Support laws that protect agroextractivists access to land
managed lands
Map community lands
Support sustainable land management planning
and practices on indigenous, quilombola, and other
traditional community lands
Expanded and Support better management of existing protected areas
well-maintained Integrate Priority Conservation Areas and Key
protected area network Biodiversity Areas mapping into CRA market design,
corporate commitments, and agricultural credits to guide
agricultural expansion away from these areas
3. Incentives Use credits and other Use existing agricultural credit lines (e.g., ABC
for conservation government programs Plan, Harvest Plan) or new credit lines to encourage
to guide agricultural development in areas that are already open or degraded,
expansion in the or that are highly productive, and to discourage
Matopiba region expansion into areas of biological or social importance
Use this same kind of zoning approach in the
development of the PDA-MATOPIBA plan and
development of CRA markets
Corporate Determine an appropriate target for deforestation
commitments and in the Cerrado that all parties can agree to (e.g., zero
supply chain incentives deforestation by a certain date, go/no-go zones based
on social and biological criteria)
Increased use of certifications
Payment for Expand ANAs Water Producer Program
ecosystem services Develop the X-CRA concept
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONSERVATION, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, AND
SOCIAL INCLUSION IN THE CERRADO BIOME (continued)
INTERVENTION STRATEGY SUBSTRATEGY
3. Incentives Strengthen the Cerrados Development grants and credits for eco-tourism
for conservation tourism industry
(continued)
4. Improved Sustainable intensification Study the economics of expanding onto degraded
sustainability and of pasturelands pastures for producers of soy and other crops
productivity of Technical assistance and training for ranchers
existing agricultural Expand availability of credits for pasture intensification
and pasturelands and target credits to areas best suited for restoration
Expansion of low-carbon agriculture practices
Push for improvements in the ABC Plan, including:
establishment of a monitoring system
better training for banks that are issuing the loans
increasing technical assistance allocation of credits
better targeting of loans
Support for sustainable Better enforcement of pesticide and labor laws
agriculture and traditional Support agroecological practices through better
agriculture implementation of the national plans and policies on
agroecology and organics (PNAPO, PLANAPO)
Promote markets and supply chains for sociobiodiversity
products (e.g., pequi fruit, babau fruit, and native
honey) (e.g., through better implementation of the
National Plan for Promotion of Socio-Biodiversity
Value Chains)
Support sustainable management of these products
(e.g., through better implementation of the Food
Acquisition Program and the National Program for
School Meals)
Generally increase technical and financial assistance
to smallholders
5. Building the case Consolidate existing Coordinate between government agencies,
for biodiversity science on the relation- academics, and NGOs
and landscape ship between forest cover
conservation and water, and support
new research
Harness existing incentive Increase support for PES programs
systems to help protect (e.g., ANAs Water Producer Program)
water resources and Target CRA trading to places of hydrological importance
support adaptation to Tie agricultural credits to better water practices
climate change
Include water conservation practices in purchasing
(cross-referenced to
standards of agricultural commodity buyers
other strategies)
INTRODUCTION
The Cerrado is a tropical, woody savanna located in the geographic heart

of Brazil and linking most of the countrys biomes. It is characterized by a
mosaic landscape that includes scrubland, grasslands, and open- and closed-
canopy forests. It is the second largest biome in Brazil, behind the Amazon,
occupying approximately 200 Mha, nearly one fourth of the country. It is rich
in endemism and is considered to be the most biologically diverse savanna
in the world.25 Rural inhabitants include indigenous people, quilombolas,
extractivists, geraizeiros, and ribeirinhos, as well as many family farmers.
The Cerrado contains the headwaters of three of Brazils major river systems,
the So Francisco, Tocantins, and Paran and it plays an instrumental role in
providing freshwater throughout the country and even across the continent.
Despite its significant social diversity, cultural expansion within the Cerrado. Agricultural
heritage, and biodiversity, the biome has not production continues to grow across the biome.
generally been seen as ecologically valuable or Cultivated acreage of soybean, corn, and cotton
charismatic. While the Amazon, Atlantic Forest, in the Cerrado increased by roughly 85 percent
and Pantanal all have legal standing as national between the crop years of 2000/2001 (9.33 Mha)
heritage biomes, the Cerrado does not. Only and 2013/2014 (17.43 Mha).29 Most of this expan-
8.3 percent of its 2 million square kilometers are sion was driven by soybeans, which represented
in designated conservation units, compared with 90 percent of the total cultivated area of these
26 percent of the Amazon.26 three crops in the Cerrado in 2013/2014.30
(See Map 2 and figures on the following pages.)
Beginning in the mid-1970s, the Cerrado transi-
tioned from a region considered closed and unfit
for agriculture into one of the most productive
agricultural regions in the world, producing large
volumes of soy, sugarcane, corn, cotton, and beef.
Large-scale national investment in the agricultural
sector, international cooperation, and develop- Photo: Peter Caton/ISPN
ment of transportation infrastructure led to a
regional transformation so profound it is known
as the Cerrado miracle.27 The value of Brazils
agricultural exports increased ten-fold between
1991 and 2011, from USD$7.9 billion to USD$79
billion.28 Much of that growth is due to agricultural
25.Ibid.. 28.Food and Agriculture Organization of the

26.Franoso et al., 2015; Nepstad et al., The End of United Nations (FAO), 2015.
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, Science 326, 29.Rudorff et al., 2015.
no. 5958 (2009): 13501351. 30.Ibid.
27.Akio Hosono, Industrial Strategy and Economic
Transformation: Lessons of Five Outstanding Cases
(working paper prepared for JICA/IPD Africa Task Force
Meeting, Yokohama, Japan, April 2013.
MAP 2: BRAZILS CERRADO, LAND COVER (2013)
Sources:
Cerrado: http://maps.lapig.iesa.ufg.br/lapig.html
Land Cover: http://www.dpi.inpe.br/tccerrado/
field work in August 2005; Successional habitat translation not final
FIGURE 1: DEFORESTATION IN BRAZILIAN BIOMES, 20002015 (km 2 per year)
Sources: 1) INPE. 2) MMA-IBAMA 2009, 2011; dotted line indicates interpolation between 2002 and 2008 data points.
3) LAPIG Maps.
FIGURE 2: CERRADO DEFORESTATION AND LAND USE CHANGE EMISSIONS, 2002 2015
CEA attempted to estimate carbon from land use change from deforestation using LAPIG deforestation data and a simplified form of
the Brazilian inventory methodology. The official inventory includes carbon lost from soil erosion and carbon gained from vegetation
regrowth, whereas CEAs analysis is based simply on loss of above and below-ground forest carbon.
Sources: 1) MCTI 2016. 2) CEA/Greeninfo Network analysis using data from LAPIG and Saatchi et al., 2011. 3) LAPIG Maps.
Methodology: CEA developed a carbon map using the PROBIO land cover map and the carbon stock data used in the official
Brazilian inventory (c.f. Table 8, Fundacao de Ciencia Aplicoes e Tecnologia Espacias (FUNCATE). 2010. Segundo inventario
Brasileiro de emissoes e remocoes antropicas de gases de efeito estufa: relatorios de referencia: emissoes de dioxide carbon no
setor uso da terra, mudanca, do uso da terra e florestas.). This was intersected with LAPIG deforestation data to obtain carbon
loss, in terms of CO2e. It was conservatively assumed that 10t C/ha remained in cropland or pasture upon conversion (estimates
of carbon stocks in pasture or annual crop areas vary from 5 to 9.2 t C/ha).
FIGURE 3: CERRADO DEFORESTATION AND Most of the remaining native vegetation in the
LAND USE CHANGE EMISSIONS BY SUB-REGION,
Cerrado is in the northern part of the biome, com-
20032015 (Mt CO 2 per year)
monly called Matopiba, a 73-Mha region named
for the initial letters of the states that compose it:
Maranho, Tocantins, Piau, and Bahia.34 In recent
years, Matopiba has become a major frontier of
agricultural expansion, accounting for three quar-
ters of Cerrado deforestation in 2015.35 Soybeans
are a leading driver of land conversion, having
expanded by over 250 percent (or by 2.45 Mha)
in Matopiba between the crop years of 2000/2001
and 2013/2014.36 The majority of this expansion
was onto areas with native vegetation or where
native vegetation was recently cleared.37
The region is slated for further development. In
May 2015, MAPA announced PDA-MATOPIBA,
the new high-level, cross-ministry plan for agri-
Source: CEA/Greeninfo Network analysis using data from
culture and livestock development in Matopiba.
LAPIG and NASA.
Its stated objective is to promote sustainable
economic development basedon agricultural and
Roughly half of the native vegetation in the
livestock activities, resulting in improved liveli-
Cerrado has already been converted to agri-
hoods. Over a year after the plan was announced,
cultural or urban uses, primarily in the southern
its details have not yet been published. The
part of the biome.31 According to data from the
governing body that guides it lacks representation
Laboratrio de Processamento de Imagens e
from the environmental and social sectors, and the
Geoprocessamento (LAPIG) at the Federal
plan has been critiqued for lacking transparency
University of Goias, deforestation rates in the
and opportunities for consultation.38
Cerrado from 2010 through 2015 have averaged
just over 0.5 Mha (5,000 km2) per year, roughly Government policies focusing on environmental
four times the size of the city of So Paulo.32 objectives in the region have been implemented
This corresponds to average GHG emissions of unevenly, at best. The government established
more than 80 Mt CO2e per year.33 These defor- an Action Plan for the Prevention/Control of
estation rates are roughly at parity with those in Deforestation and Forest Fires (PPCerrado) in
the Amazon in the last few years. Note that even 2010 in support of the National Climate Change
the Third National Inventory, which was published Policy (PNMC). This plan aimed to reduce
in May 2016, does not report emissions from deforestation rates in the Cerrado by 40 percent,
land use change after 2010, so academic data is support the creation of a deforestation monitor-
the best source of information for the 2010 to ing system, increase the number of conservation
2015 period. While the Cerrado is generally not units, recognize and title additional indigenous
as carbon dense as the Amazon, it still has very lands, reduce illegal deforestation within conser-
significant stores of carbon in both above-ground vation units and indigenous territories, reduce and
and below-ground biomass, as well as in its soils. control forest fires, and support sustainable pro-
Unfortunately, data on the below-ground and soil duction.39 Unfortunately, implementation of the
carbon stocks is limited, so emissions estimates PPCerrado has not been well documented, and
for land use change in the Cerrado are there are several indications that it has not been
particularly uncertain. successful in meeting its objectives.
31.Beuchle et al., 2015. 34.Embrapa Strategic Intelligence Group (GITE),

32.LAPIG, SIAD-Cerrado. Map analyzed by GreenInfo https://www.embrapa.br/en/tema-matopiba/
Network, 2015, http://maps.lapig.iesa.ufg.br/lapig.html. perguntas-e-respostas.
33.GreenInfo Network analysis based on LAPIG 35.GreenInfo Network analysis based on LAPIG
deforestation data, PROBIO land cover map, and carbon deforestation data.
stock data from the Ministry of Science and Technology 36.Rudorff et al., 2015.
(MCT), Second National Communication of Brazil to the 37.Ibid.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 38.Rocha, 2015.
(Braslia: General-Coordination on Global Climate Change, 39.MMA, Plano de Ao para Preveno e Controle do
2010). Desmatamento e das Queimadas no Cerrado (Braslia:
September 2010).
FIGURE 4: PRIOR LAND-USE IN AREAS OF RECENT AGRICULTURAL EXPANSION
(FROM CROP YEAR 2006/2007 TO 2013/2014)
Source: Geospatial Analysis of the Annual Crops Dynamic in the Brazilian Cerrado Biome: 2000 to 2014.
Rudorff, B.; Risso, J. et al., 2015.
For example, the satellite monitoring system for trials, and scores of government leaders have been
the Cerrado that was promised for 2011 has not mired in a corruption scandal involving the state-
yet been launched. The MMA is currently in owned oil company, Petrobras. Still, international
the process of updating the plan for the coming momentum to address climate change and defor-
years. The new version of the PPCerrado should estation is strong, buoyed by the December 2015
attempt to address the shortcomings of the initial United Nations Framework on Climate Change
plan and provide means for better reporting, Paris Climate Agreement and commitments on
cross-links with PDA-MATOPIBA, and improved the part of private companies to make their supply
coordination with other key ministries and plans chains deforestation-free. Yet to date, international
(e.g., ABC Plan, the FIP, ANA, the National attention paid to climate and forests has gener-
Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform ated only limited support for communities and
(INCRA), and MAPA). ecosystems in the Cerrado.
The current economic and political climate in Although advancing an integrated agenda that
Brazil is not favorable to the conservation agenda. supports various forms of agricultural production,
Brazils economy is weak. Its GDP contracted by ecosystem conservation, and social inclusion in the
3.8 percent in 2015, the largest drop in 25 years; Cerrado is a challenging proposition at present
agriculture is the only sector that grew in 2015.40 because of the current economic and political
Inflation and unemployment are rising, and the turmoil in Brazil and because of the pressure for
Brazilian Congress is facing serious budget agricultural expansion into the Matopiba region,
deficits.41 Confidence in the government is at an it is possible. In the next section, we propose
all-time low. President Dilma Rousseff has been several opportunities that, implemented together,
removed from office and will face impeachment could help to achieve these objectives.
40.Nielmar de Oliveira, IBGE: PIB Fecha 2015 com 41.All Fall Down, The Economist, September 511, 2015.
Queda de 3,8%, Agncia Brasil, March 3, 2016.
PROPOSED
PRIORITIES
We have identified a set of five potential opportunities to advance an

integrated agenda that supports various forms of agricultural production,
ecosystem conservation, and social inclusion in the Cerrado. Each of these
is described in detail in the following pages.
1.Strong implementation of the Forest Code

2.Protection and management of community and conservation lands
3.Incentives for conservation
4.Improved sustainability and productivity of existing agricultural lands
and pasturelands
5.Building the case for biodiversity and landscape conservation
Permanent Protection (APP), foreclosing their

PRIORITY 1 development.43 For large parcels, a total of
Strong implementation 20 percent of the area must be set aside as legal
reserve. For those portions of the Cerrado lying
of the Forest Code within the Legal Amazon (accounting for 82.5
Ensuring legal protection of Mha, or 40 percent, of the Cerrado), 35 percent
natural ecosystems on private lands must be preserved (by comparison, 80 percent
of forest landscapes within the Legal Amazon
Nearly half the Cerrado remains in native vege- must be preserved).44 Legal reserves must contain
tationa mix of forests, savannas, and grasslands either native habitat or a mix of native habitat and
spread across public, private, and communally planted forests.
managed lands. Public lands, which account for
roughly 8percent of the biome, are protected by Although the new Forest Code provides a great
a variety of conservation unit types. Private lands deal of amnesty and leniency, its underlying
and communally managed land holdings, which parameters are still quite robust. Moreover, it
compose the vast majority of land in the Cerrado, introduced new mechanisms for better enforce-
are governed by the Brazilian Forest Code.42 The ment and for trading of legal reserves, both of
Forest Code requires that areas around streams which have the potential to greatly improve the
or on steep slopes be designated as Areas of environmental outcomes of the Forest Code.
42.The Forest Code was first established in 1934 and Biological Sciences 368, no. 1619 (2013).
required landholders to preserve certain areas of forest to 43.APPs include both Riparian Preservation Areas
conserve riparian health, support soil health, and otherwise (RPAs), which protect riverside forest buffers, and Hilltop
protect environmental health. The statute was revised Preservation Areas (HPAs), which protect hilltops, high
in 1965, 1989, 1996, and most recently 2012. Claudia elevations, and steep slopes. Soares-Filho et al., 2014.
M. Stickler et al., Defending Public Interests in Private 44.Frederico Machado and Kate Anderson, Brazils New
Lands: Compliance, Costs and Potential Environmental Forest Code: A Guide for Decision-Makers in Supply Chains
Consequences of the Brazilian Forest Code in Mato Grosso, and Governments, WWF Brazil, 2016.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B:
The New Forest Code
Revisions to the Forest Code in 2012 (Law
12.651) reduced the requirements for protection
by about 30 Mha, or 58 percent, across Brazil
by exempting small landholders, changing the
definition of Hilltop Preservation Areas (HPAs),
and including Riparian Preservation Areas
(RPAs) in the calculation of legal reserve.45 The
Photo: CEA
new Forest Code also created a special regime
that offers some leniency to rural properties
where native vegetation was illegally cleared for
agriculture or livestock production before July
2008.46 Those landholders who illegally cleared The CAR
APP or legal reserve areas before July 2008 One of the most important elements introduced
still must comply with the Forest Code, but are by the new Forest Code is the CAR, a coun-
entitled to some benefits by enrolling in the
try-wide registry that documents the legal reserve
Environmental Regularization Program (PRA)
and other Forest Code obligations of individual
and signing a Commitment Agreement, which
includes a Forest Recovery Plan.47 landowners. The lack of a country-wide CAR is
one reason why enforcing the Forest Code has
45.Soares-Filho et al., 2014.
46.Joana Chiavari and Cristina Leme Lopes, Policy
historically been difficult. Without this docu-
Brief: Brazils New Forest Code. Part II: Paths and mentation it is nearly impossible to distinguish
Challenges to Compliance, Iniciativa para o Uso da between legal and illegal deforestation on private
Tera and Climate Policy Initiative, November, 2015. properties.
Note that the size of a fiscal module is defined
differently by each state. Brazils federal and state governments have made
47.Ibid. major, important investments into an online
registration system, the National System for the
Rural Environmental Registry (SICAR), to facil-
Strong Forest Code implementation is a top itate CAR registrations. Complete, timely, and
priority for the MMA. It is also a major focus of equitable implementation of the CAR in a manner
international funding to the Cerrado, including that is robust and transparent is fundamental to
the USD$32 million FIP48 and funding from the conservation and social inclusion across Brazil. It
United Kingdoms Department for Environment, is the responsibility of state governments, par-
Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). These pro- ticularly state-level environmental secretariats,
grams are largely focused on supporting CAR to ensure that CAR registrations are completed.
registrations in a limited number of target Unfortunately, many of these agencies lack
municipalities sufficient capacity, staff, and budget to do so,
Effective Forest Code implementation is funda- especially given the current financial crisis. These
mental to the success of the conservation and capacity gaps hamper implementation of the
forest agendas in Brazil. If done well, it will put CAR and will certainly hinder the subsequent
Brazil in a strong position for protecting and verification process. CAR implementation should
managing its existing forest land, protecting its be marked by the following characteristics:
water resources, and restoring wide expanses of
degraded land. Success will require several more
years of dedicated focus from federal, state, and
local governments, as well as civil society.
48.The FIP is the largest climate-focused foreign adoption of sustainable agriculture practices, in alignment
investment program that provides funding to the Cerrado. with the ABC Plan; the National Forest Inventory in the
It is administered by the World Bank and is focused on Cerrado; and programs relating to fire prevention and
building capacity at the federal and state levels to receive, monitoring of vegetation cover, including implementation
analyze, and approve CAR entries. It also supports, in of a forest fire early-warning system.
selected municipalities, landholding registration in the CAR;
Timely: Although property owners have Foundation (FUNAI), the Ministry of
made good progress so far, with 91 percent of Agrarian Development (MDA), National
private land area registered as of May 2016,49 Confederation of Agricultural Workers,
the CAR process continues to be delayed. National Federation of Family Farming)
The initial deadline of May 2015 was pushed should more actively support CAR registra-
back to May 2016, a provisional measure (PM tions for these groups, and work to ensure
No. 724) was signed in May 2016 to shift the that conflicts involving overlapping registries
deadline for smallholders to May 2017, and in the SICAR system are timely and equitably
in June 2016, a provisional measure (PM No. resolved.
733) extended the deadline for all rural prop- Robust: Because the CAR will be so volu-
erties until December 2017.50 Some delays are minous (roughly 5.1 million properties)51
clearly necessary, especially to help smallhold- and there is a great risk of entry of false
ers gain inclusion under the law. However, information (as a result of intentional and
further delays may signal that the government unintentional misrepresentations of territory
will not enforce the law effectively, may carry a and legal reserve), the validation process
risk of paralyzing implementation of the Code, may delay the effort to bring properties into
and may open the door to weakening the law. compliance for quite a long time. Efficient and
Equitable: Much of Brazils rural population effective validation of the CAR is crucial to
does not have sufficient resources to com- avoiding derailment of Forest Code imple-
plete CAR registrations. Landowners may mentation. The Brazilian federal and state
lack the needed knowledge base or technical governments, as well as international donors,
skills, or they may not even be aware of the should support the technical capacity of the
requirement. Traditional communities and state-level environmental secretariats that
family farmers could be at risk of losing their are largely responsible for validation of the
land if larger, better-resourced actors register CAR. These agencies are also responsible for
claim to the same land. Although the CAR is establishing and implementing the state-level
not a land tenure regularization program, it is Environmental Compliance Programs (PRA).
conceivable that CAR registration might be a As of October 2015, only 15 out of 26 states
component of future land tenure claims. Thus, had enacted provisions related to the PRA,
CAR registration could prove to be both an and even in those states, the programs were
offensive and defensive tactic for these actors not yet operational.52
in their long-standing effort to secure land Transparent: Ensuring a transparent CAR
tenure. is critical to its integrity across the country.
On a technical level, it is particularly chal- Public CAR data can back-stop Forest Code
lenging to register communally owned or compliance. For example, by combining par-
managed land into the CAR. INCRA has the cel-level CAR data, satellite monitoring data,
responsibility of supporting CAR registration and supply chain information, buyers should
for established rural settlements. But INCRA be able to track illegal deforestation within
has been limited by budget cuts, and many their supply chains. Public attorneys could
communities that have not been formally benefit from CAR data in prosecuting cases
established likely do not have the support relating to land tenure or illegal deforestation.
they need to register. Federal, state, and Civil society organizations could also use
local government agencies should support CAR data combined with satellite monitor-
traditional communities and smallholders in ing data to identify municipalities in need of
completing CAR registration. Furthermore, technical assistance and to verify compliance
the federal agencies and associations that with corporate commitments. Some of these
support traditional communities and family organizations are already calling for transpar-
farmers (e.g., INCRA, the National Indian ency and access to information.53
49.Servio Florestal Brasileiro, Cadastro Ambiental Rural: 51.IBGE, Censo Agropecurio (Rio de Janeiro: 2009), 777.
Boletim Informativo, May 2016. 52.Joana Chiavari and Cristina Leme Lopes, Policy Brief:
50.Servio Florestal Brasileiro, Pequenos Podero Fazer Brazils New Forest Code. Part I: How to Navigate the
CAR Ate Maio de 2017, May 5, 2016 and Canal Rural, Complexity, Iniciativa para o Uso da Tera and Climate Policy
CAR is extended to all producers, June 15, 2016. Initiative, November 2015.
53.Machado and Anderson, 2016.
also become valuable sources of products that
support the livelihoods of traditional communi-
ties and could be an important aspect of Brazils
climate adaptation strategy. Restoration of APPs
will be important for securing the hydrological
function of the region and should be a priority
Photo: unefunge/Flickr
within the restoration agenda. Brazil has pledged

to restore 12 Mha of degraded lands by 2030
as part of its Intended Nationally Determined
Contribution (INDC) committed under the Paris
Climate Agreement.56
Under the Forest Code, landowners are allowed
to meet half of their legal reserve requirements
Beyond CAR
with planted forests, while the remainder must be
While CAR registrations are an essential first step replanted with native vegetation. There is already
to Forest Code compliance, a post-CAR agenda a growing tension between the planted forest
must be developed and initiated soon to prepare industry, which sees an opportunity for compli-
for implementation once the CAR is complete. ance-driven expansion, and the conservation
Currently, an estimated 21 Mha of legal reserve community, which views planted forest (typically
deficit exists in Brazil.54 This land is out of com- eucalyptus or pine) as lacking ecological integrity.
pliance with the new Forest Code. Legally, it Conservationists are concerned that restoration
should have native vegetation but it does not. efforts that focus on tree planting rather than res-
Addressing these debts would deliver important toration of native habitat worsen biodiversity loss
climate and conservation benefits. The new Forest and further compromise ecosystem services, even
Code allows landowners to address these debts if non-exotic species are limited to 50 percent
by either ensuring protection of native habitat of the recovery area.57 Others see potential for
in excess of the legal requirement on someone planted forests to help relieve pressure on native
elses land (compensation) or restoring their own forests when linked to supply chains interested in
legal reserve to a vegetated state (restoration). deforestation-free timber (e.g., the pulp and paper
(APP areas cannot be compensated and instead industry and the soy industry, which uses wood for
must be restored.) The key issue in designing its driers).58
both compensation and restoration systems is A key issue will be determining how to finance res-
to balance ecological and economic viability so toration, which can cost up to thousands of reals
that the systems yield real conservation benefits per hectare. Restoration with native vegetation
while minimizing the cost to producers, thereby can be made more economical for landowners via
increasing the likelihood of durable compliance subsidies for seeds and seedlings, technical assis-
with the Forest Code. The government and civil tance from industry associations and the National
society should proactively work to ensure these Agency on Technical Assistance and Rural
dual outcomes. Extension (ANATER), simple guidelines from
the Brazilian Agricultural Resource Corporation
Restoration (Embrapa), and identification of native species
Restoration of the countrys 21 Mha of previously that have revenue generation potential, also from
cleared legal reserves could provide GHG miti- Embrapa. Although slower than active planting,
gation of between 7 and 11 Gt CO2e55 as well as allowing the land to regrow naturally is a less
important local benefits such as reduced sedimen- expensive route to restoration, which may also
tation into streams, higher soil moisture content, support biodiversity and species that are appropri-
improved pollinator habitat, and increased habitat ately adapted to local climatic conditions.
for native Cerrado species. Restored areas could
54.Soares-Filho et al., 2014. 57.Joseph W. Veldman et al., Tyranny of Trees in Grassy

55.Ibid. Biomes, Science 347, no. 6221 (2015): 484.
56.Federative Republic of Brazil, Intended Nationally 58.Drying soybeans is an important part of processing,
Determined Contribution: Towards Achieving the Objective helping to prevent growth of fungi and bacteria.
of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change.
Photo: Calil Souza/Flickr
In the near term, the government, civil society, to protect land that is subsequently deforested,
and academics should focus on ensuring good claimed unlawfully as compensation for many
design of restoration systems, determining where different properties, or located so far afield that
restoration should be prioritized on the landscape, it faced little risk of deforestation and therefore
and identifying an environmentally responsible provides no additional conservation benefits.
mix of vegetation. While guidelines are needed at Alternatively, the complex web of laws could
the national level, they are particularly important be so convoluted that little trading occurs, and
for the southern Cerrado states, where most of if restoration options appear onerously expen-
the biomes legal reserve deficits are located. The sive, landowners may either ignore Forest Code
MMAs draft National Plan for Native Vegetation requirements or actively seek to undermine the
Restoration (PLANAVEG) could play a key role law. The near-term goal is to develop smoothly
in defining and charting the course for restoration. functioning exchanges that are not prohibitively
However, development of this plan seems to have complex and are free of damaging loopholes.
stalled since it was open for public comment in
State and federal governments are in the pro-
August 2015. Lack of formal restoration guidelines
cess of developing the regulations for the CRA,
threatens to further delay the environmental com-
the mechanism that will allow these trades. The
pliance and land regularization process.
regulations governing the design of CRA markets
are not yet complete. Efforts to map Forest Code
Compensation
implementation have revealed many remaining
The Forest Code allows landowners to come gaps and uncertainties in the design of CRA
into compliance by paying other landowners markets at both federal and state levels.59 Open
with surplus native vegetation to keep that land questions include the term of the compensation
in its natural state in lieu of restoring their own (e.g., ten years? fifty years?), the geographic
legal reserves. This system could lower the costs boundaries within which compensation will be
of Forest Code compliance and protect intact allowed, how monitoring and verification will be
habitat on private properties. However, it also handled, and whether compensation can be met
has the potential to undermine the Forest Codes by buying out government liabilities in conserva-
environmental objectives. If poorly implemented, tion units and settlements.
the CRA might allow a landowner to pay pennies
59.Chiavari and Lopes, 2015.
Considerations in the design
of CRA markets
Key considerations in designing CRA markets to be Opportunity to develop conservation
both equitable and efficient include the following: corridors and protect priority landscapes:
Transparency and verification: Landowners For compensation that occurs outside the state
can claim to have protected land on the CRA of the rural property in need of compliance,
market as a way to comply with the Forest the law requires the federal government
Code. Thus, a registry of trades should be and the states to indicate priority areas for
tracked and monitored by the government or compensation.61 This element of the law could
an independent institution empowered to verify allow for smart compensation, whereby
and manage the CRA markets to ensure there compensation credits are targeted at areas of
is no double counting or other inconsistencies. high conservation value, such as areas where
Unless trades can also be publicly verified, contiguous corridors can be consolidated or
illegal trading and false claims of Forest Code those areas with high carbon stocks, important
compliance are likely. All CRA transactions hydrological function, habitat for endemic or
should be geo-tagged and publicly reported on endangered species, or specific socioeconomic
a system that is tied to a public CAR and land importance.62 CRA regulations should guide
registry. landowners to aggregate their offsets in
these areas, building off of the Ministry of
Compensation boundaries: Allowing for
Environments official Priority Conservation
compensation within the boundaries of the
Areas.63
biome, rather than within the boundaries of
a state, is likely to shift compensation trades Support a range of land-related
to regions that are far from the agricultural environmental services: One idea suggested
frontier. There is considerably more intact by Brazilian academics is to use the CRA offset
native vegetation in more remote areas, market as a platform for a range of land-
where land is much cheaper. However, that related environmental services (e.g., carbon,
land is also much less likely to be developed biodiversity, water), with the CRA infrastructure
and its protection would therefore provide providing a ready supply of forests for a variety
questionable additional benefits. of potential buyers.64 (See X-CRA, p. 39.)
Transaction costs: High transaction costs have Equity: An additional challenge of the CRA
the potential to dampen the market, making system is that smallholders will only be able
it less robust and less used. Finding ways to to participate if they hold formal land titles,
streamline the regulations and the CRA system which most do not.65 This reality underscores
will help keep transaction costs low. the importance of coupling land regularization
efforts with implementation of the CAR and
Ensure additionality: In a number of
the CRA. Again, smallholders and traditional
conservation units in the Cerrado, private
landowners still own some portion of the communities will need technical assistance with
all of these processes.
land. The government has been slow to buy
out this land, prompting some to suggest A more complete analysis is available from a study
that landowners should be able to meet their on the economic viability of the CRA from the
compensation requirements by buying out Federal University of Minas Gerais.66
this liability on behalf of the government.
While these existing conservation units clearly
need support, allowing for these in-holdings,
estimated to total 14 Mha, to be offered as
surpluses on the CRA market would not help
protect additional land.60
60.Raoni Rajo and Britaldo Soares-Filho, 63.MMA, Priority Areas for the Conservation,
Policies Undermine Brazils GHG goals, Science 350, Sustainable Use and Benefit Sharing of Brazilian
no. 6260 (2015): 519. Biological Diversity (Brazil, 2007).
61.Machado and Anderson et al., 2016. 64.Rajo and Soares-Filho,
62.Ibid. Cotas de Reserva Ambiental, 2015.
65.Chiavari and Lopes, 2015.
66.Rajo and Soares-Filho,
Cotas de Reserva Ambiental, 2015.
Strong compliance and monitoring A number of Brazilian ministries are currently
involved in creating monitoring systems that will
Compliance and enforcement cover the Cerrado. Each of these systems plays an
Compliance with and enforcement of the Forest essential role in improving compliance and moni-
Code have traditionally been weak. For exam- toring of vegetation cover in the Cerrado.
ple, in 2008 over 85 percent of properties in the Terraclass: Terraclass is a biannual land cover
State of Mato Grosso (which spans the Cerrado, map developed by an MMA-led multiagency
Amazon, and Patanal biomes) were not in com- collaboration. It succeeds PROBIO (2002).
pliance with the Forest Code as it stood at the Terraclass was released in November 2015
time.67 The challenge of ensuring compliance and can be found at: http://www.dpi.inpe.br/
with the law was recognized implicitly by Brazils tccerrado/.
recent international commitments to halt illegal
deforestation by 2030an acknowledgment that PRODES: PRODES Cerrado will be an
stopping illegal deforestation is a decadal proj- annual deforestation monitoring system
ect.68 State and local governments must have the specifically targeting the Cerrado. Its annual
training and resources to effectively enforce the data will represent a great improvement over
Forest Code. A culture and expectation of com- current deforestation data for the Cerrado.
pliance also requires the support of landowners The most recent official deforestation
themselves and of the corporate buyers of their (i.e., loss of natural vegetation) data for the
agricultural products. As of January 2017, CAR biome is from 2010. The National Institute
registration will be a precondition of receiving of Space Research (INPE) expects PRODES
government agricultural credit, an appropriate Cerrado to go live in 2016.
and necessary check on compliance. Additionally, DETER Cerrado: DETER will provide
CAR registration should be a precondition to short-term deforestation monitoring, so that
obtaining private sources of agricultural credit recent or in-process deforestation can be seen
and a precondition to selling to corporate buyers. on a month-to-month timescale. The Institute
Rapid restoration of APPs that are out of com- of Environment and Renewable Natural
pliance will be particularly important given the Resources (IBAMA) is in the process of
critical role that the Cerrado plays in provisioning testing this system.
of water for the country. In order to ensure accu- Fire monitoring: Fire monitoring is already
racy in the CAR validation process, a high-quality, in place for the Cerrado; INPE issues fire
geo-referenced database of watersheds is neces- alerts within hours of fires being observed.
sary. Without this database, it will be difficult for Resolution will likely continue to improve
the SICAR system to identify and protect APPs.69 over time. Burned area maps are under
development.
Land use and deforestation monitoring Academia, the private sector, and civil society
Remote monitoring, especially satellite monitor- can each play very important roles in augmenting
ing, is increasingly important in verifying com- official monitoring systems. For example, LAPIG
pliance with the Forest Code. The Cerrado is a currently provides time-series data on deforesta-
uniquely challenging environment for satellite tion in the Cerrado from 2003 through 2015. Civil
monitoring because it can be hard to distinguish society organizations can also interpolate or help
between different types of land cover and land fill in where official data is lacking, as the SEEG
use activities (e.g., pasture versus native grassland, (Greenhouse Gas Emission Estimate System)
degraded pasture versus pasture that is under- project of the Climate Observatory does. This
going restoration). These challenges lead to a system is currently in the process of developing
significant margin of error in satellite land cover annual land cover maps stretching from 1970
maps of the Cerrado. At the same time, monitor- through 2013 (MAPBIOMES), which will allow
ing technology is continuously improving even for calculation of deforestation and carbon stock
as costs decrease. fluxes across Brazil over time. Efforts to map
67.Stickler et al., 2013. Change (September 28, 2015); The U.S. White House,
68.Commitments include Brazils INDC and its joint Office of the Press Secretary, U.S.-Brazil Joint Statement
statements on climate change with the United States and On Climate Change (June 30, 2015); and Brazil Ministry of
Germany. Federal Republic of Brazil, Intended Nationally Foreign Affairs, Brazilian-German Joint Statement on Climate
Determined Contribution Towards Achieving the Objective Change (Nota 337: August 20, 2015).
of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate 69.Machado and Anderson, 2016.
deforestation globally provide another useful set society monitor deforestation rates, watch-dog
of data points. Due to the challenges of mapping implementation of the Forest Code and private
deforestation and carbon fluxes remotely, having sector commitments, and track success of other
multiple systems can help to reduce uncertainty environmental programs (e.g., PPCerrado) and
and provide a better understanding of the range protected areas. (See Map 3.)
of possible scenarios. These tools can help civil
MAP 3: BRAZILS CERRADO, DEFORESTATION
Sources:
Matopiba: http://www.ibge.gov.br/english/geociencias/
default_prod.shtm
Deforestation: http://maps.lapig.iesa.ufg.br/lapig.html
PRIORITY 2
Protection and management
of community and
conservation lands
Photo: Peter Caton/ISPN

Recognition and titling of traditional
peoples lands and territories and
improved stewardship of native habitat
within all types of conservation areas
The Matopiba region of the Cerrado is a
contested landscape today. The 73-Mha region
has experienced the countrys fastest growth in Yet many rural inhabitants of Matopiba bristle
agricultural expansion and some of the highest at the vision of development put forth by PDA-
rates of deforestation over the last decade.70 It MATOPIBA and the assertion that this type of
is the new agricultural frontier of Brazil. PDA- development will benefit them in the long run.
MATOPIBA has the potential to accelerate this Instead, they see it as a government-backed
pattern of development and further change the invasion of their land that will ultimately result in
character of the landscape. The government a massive land transfer to large-scale producers
views the region as poor and in need of devel- from outside of the territory and displacement
opment. Evaristo de Miranda, the coordinator of communities. An open letter for the Brazilian
of EMBRAPAs GITE (Group on Strategic Society and the Presidency, issued in November
Territorial Intelligence), has publicly stated that 2015 by a group of 40 civil society organizations in
the Matopiba region is an archipelago of islands the Cerrado, including the Interstate Movement of
of prosperity in a sea of poverty and rural misery.71 Quebradeiras de Coco Babau (MIQCB), Rede
It is undeniable that the Matopiba region is poor Cerrado, Comisso Pastoral da Terra (CPT), and
its per capita GDP is R$7,950, below the national Conselho Indigenista Missionrio (CIMI), claimed
average of R$19,770and that efforts to provide that PDA-MATOPIBA will promote further
technical assistance and agricultural credits to destruction of life and exclusion of the Cerrado
small-scale producers are laudable.72 The plans people [enhancing] rural exodus and increasing
stated objectives are to promote and coordinate poverty and the invisibility of populations in the
public policies aimed at sustainable economic territory.73 The plan has also been critiqued for
development, based on agricultural and livestock not meeting the requirements of international
activities that improve livelihoods. agreements and prior consultation laws74 and for
not including any environmental or social repre-
sentation in its governance body.75
70.LAPIG, 2015; Rudorff et al., 2015. 75.The program will be governed by a Manager
71.Evaristo Eduardo de Miranda, Matopiba: Desenvolver a Committee composed of MAPA; the Ministry of
Agricultura ou os Agricultores?, Correio Braziliense, Agrarian Development (MDA); the Ministry of Industry
April 30, 2015. and Commerce (MDIC); the Ministry of National
72.Chico Santos, Agribusiness: Inclusive Development, Integration (MIN); the Ministry of Science, Technology
The Brazilian Economy 7, no. 7: 18. and Innovation (MCTI); and the Ministry of Education
73.Comisso Pastoral da Terra et al., Carta Aberta (ME); as well as one representative from each state and
Sociedade Brasileira e Presidncia da Repblica e ao four representatives of the executive power of the four
Congresso Nacional Sobre a Destruio do Cerrado Pelo municipalities of the regionone from each state; six
MATOPIBA, November 25, 2015. agribusiness representatives; six union representatives;
74.Rocha, 2015. and two representatives from academia. The executive
secretariat of the program will be from MAPA.
Major traditional communities in the Cerrado
and their primary demands 76
Both the Cerrado and its northern reaches Quebradeiras de coco are women whose
(Matopiba) are home to a great diversity of rural livelihoods depend on gathering the babau
communities that have inhabited the territory palm nut. Their territory stretches over
for generations. Many of these communities are nearly 30 Mha in parts of the States of Piau,
officially recognized in Brazil as traditional peo- Maranho, Tocantins, and Par. These women
ples under the 1988 Brazilian Constitution and are officially recognized by Brazilian laws
subsequent national laws. Many groups are further as traditional peoples, although they dont
supported by state level constitutions and munici- have their rights inscribed in the federal
pal and international conventions. Each is a unique Constitution. They do have protections under
group with its own social identity, connection to the Constitution of the State of Maranho
the land, and specific needs and demands. Many as well as laws and decrees in several
of them consider land as a commons or municipalities. Many of these communities are
communally-owned resource. also quilombolas or extrativists and thus some
Indigenous peoples have constitutional are demanding that their babauais territories
rights to their lands. However, these lands are demarcated as quilombos, extractive
are often not fully demarcated or officially reserves (RESEX), or rural settlements. In
recognized by the government. Their primary addition, they fight for the enforcement of
demand is for full recognition and protection the Free Babau laws, which would protect
of their lands. At the same time, indigenous the babauais from deforestation and would
peoples are demanding access to programs for enable them to collect the babau nuts on
sanitation, sustainable production, education, private lands. Guaranteeing access and
culture, housing, and health. FUNAI is the control of the babauais areas is their primary
federal government agency responsible for demand. Further, they are interested in gaining
indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples have support for their products in the market. There
established their own organizations, at both the are supported by several federal agencies,
local and national level, including COIAB and including MMA and ICMBio. They are very
APOINME. well organized, primarily through MIQCB, an
interstate social movement.
Quilombolas are ethnic groups predominantly
comprised of descendants of enslaved Africans There are several other agroextractivists
who live in rural or urban communities, communities beyond the quebradeiras de
established since the 17th century, during and coco. Some, such as the rubber tappers,
after the period of slavery. These communities gatherers of brazil nuts, and fisher people,
are officially recognized by the Brazilian have protections under decrees. The needs
Constitution as well as a subsequent decree and demands of these groups are similar to
which regularizes land titling procedures those of the quebradeiras de coco. They
to guarantee their territories. To date, the seek guaranteed access to the land that they
Brazilian government has recognized the harvest and support for their products in the
existence of more than 3,000 quilombos marketplace.
settled on some 30 Mha of land. However, Family farmers are not recognized as
as of 2016, the government had only issued traditional peoples under the Brazilian legal
about 110 ownership certificates. The primary framework. They do not seek to title their
demand of quilombolas communities is land lands as a commons, but rather as private small
ownership. At the same time, quilombolas are farmers. Their rights over parcels of land are
demanding access to programs for sanitation, guaranteed by the Brazilian Agrarian Reform
production, education, culture, housing, Legal Framework (Estatuto da Terra). However,
and health. A diversity of federal agencies they often struggle to secure legal title to their
have jurisdiction over quilombos, including lands. Thus, one of their primary concerns is
Fundao Palmares and INCRA. Additionally, land regularization so that they can protect
many state governments have agencies themselves from land grabbing. They are also
dedicated to quilombos. Quilombolas are in need of technical assistance, dedicated credit
nationally organized through CONAQ, a social lines, and market support in order for their
movement which also has state level branches. agricultural practices and economies to thrive.
76.Alfredo Wagner Berno de Almeida and Mason Mathews,

Traditionally Occupied Lands in Brazil, PGSCA-UFAM, 2011.
Regularization of the landscape It is the top priority for the communities them-
PDA-MATOPIBA might not be seen as such a selves. Reducing the conflict on the landscape
threat if traditional communities and peoples had will require support for communities and family
more secure tenure to their land, clearer means farmers, through mapping their situation and
for securing tenure, and better mapping of their needs, providing capacity building and legal
needs and territories. training, engaging the state-level public prosecu-
tors, identifying the means to ensure access/right
Brazil has a storied history of disenfranchisement to land, coordinating between various federal and
of rural inhabitants who, although they may have state ministries, and investing in upgraded data
inhabited their land for generations, often do not systems. At the same time, it will require more
have formal land title. The regularization process restraint on the part of large-scale agricultural
for this large portion of the population is compli- producers, international buyers, and investors in
cated by the historical layers of titling, dating back agricultural lands. These actors need to under-
to the Portuguese Crown, and the overlapping stand the risks associated with land speculation
authority between federal, state, and municipal in the Cerrado and must commit to conflict-free
governments.77 There is no single repository of supply chains, better documentation of their indi-
land title documentation. Further complicating vidual land acquisitions, and broad support for the
the matter is the fact that land claims can easily be process of land regularization in the region.
fabricated in such an uncoordinated system, and
traditional communities are often victim to more CAR as a means of registering land
powerful, better resourced, and sometimes violent
As noted above, the self-declaratory nature of the
actors. According to Bastiaan Reydon, an agrarian
Forest Codes CAR registry could prove to be a
economist, Brazil has always had a disabilityin
tool of land grabbers. Conversely, the CAR could
regularizing the land market and access to land for
become a good entry point for family farmers and
social, economic and environmental purposes.78
communities working to establish their land title
Accounts of land grabbing are rampant. Even
(although the CAR is not a land tenure regulariza-
TIAA-CREF, an American investment firm that
tion program). Whether the CAR is used proac-
prides itself on upholding socially responsible
tively or defensively, capitalizing on the current
values, has been implicated in land grabs and
window for registration and national and interna-
transgressions of laws that limit foreign investment
tional support for the process is a good strategy
into Brazilian agricultural land.79
for communities and family farmers. Federal, state,
The community backlash against PDA- and local government agencies should support
MATOPIBA, the TIAA-CREF land-grabbing their participation in the CAR with technical
affair, and the tangle of land title conflicts across assistance.
rural Brazil all point to a single reality: small-scale
rural inhabitants are vulnerable in Matopiba, and Support for indigenous and
without significant support from civil society and quilombola lands and other
the government, they are likely to face the fate of communally managed lands
most developing agricultural landscapes (includ-
ing those in much of the southern Cerrado): In addition to general improvements to land titling
they will be displaced from their land in favor of and land regularization in Matopiba, the area
consolidated holdings with industrial-scale deserves much more formalization of communi-
agricultural production. ty-managed lands. One example is recognizing
and titling indigenous territories that have not yet
Helping traditional communities and small-scale received formal recognition but are protected
family farmers maintain control of their land under the constitution. Several are being pro-
should be a high priority for both the social posed by FUNAI and are at different stages in the
movement and conservation agendas in Brazil. technical process of becoming demarcated and
formalized.80 (See callout box on previous page.)
77.As an example, we heard anecdotally that in So Flix 79.Simon Romero, TIAA-CREF, U.S. Investment Giant,
do Xingu, registry papers correspond to 27 Mha while the Accused of Land Grabs in Brazil, The New York Times,
municipality has an area of only 8.5 Mha. November 16, 2015.
78.MDA, Ncleo de Estudos Agrrios e Desenvolvimento 80.FUNAI, 2015.
Rural. Mercado de Terras no Brasil: Estrutura e Dinmica
(Braslia: 2006).
MAP 4: BRAZILS CERRADO, COMMUNITY LANDS
Sources:
Indigenous Areas: http://mapas2.funai.gov.br/i3geo/datadownload.htm
Quilombolas: http://maps.lapig.iesa.ufg.br/lapig.html
Rural Settlements: http://maps.lapig.iesa.ufg.br/lapig.html
as a part of agribusiness expansion plans and used
as a way to direct technical resources.
Photo: Emmanuel Keller/Flickr
Legislative threats
Environmentalists and traditional communities
alike are concerned about a legislative threat
to the creation of new indigenous lands and
quilombola areas. A bill under discussion at the
House of Representatives (PEC 215) aims to
change Brazils constitution to shift responsibility
for the approval of new areas from the President
A more complex example is the Quebradeiras de to the Congress. It also would require new qui-
coco (described above) who harvest the babau lombola lands to be created by law, a much higher
fruit (a palm species) for a variety of subsistence bar than currently exists. These changes would
and commercial purposes.81 Babau breakers are make it harder to officially recognize indigenous
allowed access to privately held lands for forag- and quilombola lands that have not yet completed
ing in some municipalities.82 However, if those this process, creating further risks and hurdles for
lands are converted to eucalyptus plantations these already-vulnerable communities.
or soy fields, their livelihoods and way of life will
disappear with the babau palms. Establishing Better management of indigenous
more secure access to their lands is essential for and quilombola territories and other
this community as they face expansion of planted traditional community lands
forests. One babau breaker in Maranho reports,
While indigenous, quilombola, and other tradi-
the eucalyptus situation is so bad right now I can
tional communities tend to manage the native
barely explain it to you.83 One potential avenue of
habitat on their lands in a sustainable manner,
support is through a federal law proposed in 2007,
expanded efforts to support good land man-
Babau Livre, which would ensure free access for
agement planning and practices will be import-
the babau breakers onto private land across the
ant over the long term. A good example is the
country. The same dynamics are at play in other
National Policy of Territorial and Environmental
agroextractivist communities.
Management of Brazilian Indigenous Lands
Additionally, continued efforts to establish new (PNGATI), which is designed to help foster
rural settlements and expand the network of sustainable management of natural resources
sustainable use protected areas (e.g., RESEXs on indigenous lands.
and Sustainable Development Reserves (RDS))
are needed, as are development of other catego- Expanded and well-maintained
ries of lands such as Indigenous and Community protected area network
Conserved Areas (ICCAs). (See Map 4.)
The Cerrado is a global biodiversity hotspot.
Community mapping It is rich with endemism, and yet an estimated 20
percent of native and endemic species do not fall
In order to develop formal and defensible ter- within any legal protected areas, while at least 345
ritories for the myriad traditional communities animal species in the Cerrado are threatened with
across Matopiba, it is essential to map the lands extinction.84 Additionally, the existing protected
they inhabit and the natural resources they area network is not well managed. Funding from
depend upon and help to conserve. The New federal, state, and municipal budgets is often inad-
Social Cartography of the Amazon is supporting equate to meet the operational needs of the areas
many such efforts. These maps are best made and, by some accounts, the rate of deforestation
via partnerships between the communities who within sustainable use protected areas is just as
have knowledge of the landscape and technicians high as the rate of deforestation outside of them
who are adept at mapping. These maps should (strictly protected areas fare much better in this
be integrated into the land use planning efforts of regard).85
PDA-MATOPIBA and go/no-go zoning adopted
81.Entre a Caatinga e o Cerrado: as Quebradeiras 83.David Hill, Meet the Babassu Breakers on
de Coco Babau, Ninja, August 11, 2015. Brazils New Agricultural Frontier, The Guardian,
82.Instituto Socioambiental, Mapa Revela Aumento da September 2015.
Incidncia de Babauais no PI, TO, MA e PA (August 2015) 84.CEPF, 2016.
85.Ibid.
The Cerrado has roughly 17.4 Mha covered by The maps of priority areas for conservation have
383 public protected areas in the various manage- been published by WWF, but have not yet been
ment categories defined by the National System officially published by the government.91 WWFs
of Conservation Units (SNUC).86 This network publication identifies 300 priority areas in the
covers 8.5 percent of the biome, below the Aichi Cerrado (covering roughly 78 Mha, or about
target of 17 percent, set by the Convention on 40 percent of the Cerrado biome); 20.6 Mha of
Biological Diversity.87 Indigenous and quilombola this area is classified as extreme priority. The
lands together add about 10 Mha to the tally of Critical Ecosystems Partnership Funds (CEPF)
native habitat under protection.88 Combining Ecosystem Profile of the Cerrado identifies 765
indigenous and quilombola lands with the SNUC key biodiversity areas (KBAs), covering 118 Mha
conservation units, a total of 13.5 percent of the (roughly 10 percent of these areas are currently
Cerrado is protected, covering 27 Mha in over inside protected areas or indigenous areas). KBAs
500 different tracts.89 This figure not only fails to are strategic locations for the conservation of
protect the historical occupation and socio-cul- globally important biodiversity in the Cerrado.
tural traditions of communities in the Cerrado but Approximately 21 Mha of CEPFs KBAs are
is insufficient to conserve the rich biodiversity of classified as priority.92 There are large overlaps
the region. (See Map 5.) between WWFs priority areas and CEPFs KBAs.
Expanded and strengthened protected areas
Protected Lands in the Cerrado remain critical for the long-term health of the
Developing new protected areas in the Cerrado Cerrado, its traditional communities, its plant and
is particularly challenging because much of the animal species, and also its hydrological function.
land is privately held, so the government would In the near term, efforts should be focused on
need to buy out those landowners in order to shoring up management and protection of existing
establish new protected areas. However, much protected areas and on using the CRA (smart
of the technical work necessary to develop new compensation), agricultural credits, and supply
protected areas and new indigenous areas has chain commitments to protect areas of high
been done. The MMA, in partnership with WWF, conservation value and guide agricultural develop-
analyzed the priority areas for conservation in ment to less biologically and socially valuable land.
the Cerrado (updated from a 2007 publication). (See Maps 5, 6 and 7.)
Protected Lands In The Cerrado 90

CATEGORY AREA (MHA) PERCENT NUMBER
OF BIOME OF PARCELS
Cerrado lands in the National System of Nature Conservation Units (SNUC)

Strict protection 6.28 3.1% 119
Sustainable use 11 5.4% 103
Private Natural Heritage 0.16 0.1% 161
Reserves (RPPN)
Other protected lands

Indigenous lands 9.6 4.7% 95
Quilombola lands 0.4 0.2% 44
All protected areas 27 13.5% 522
86.MMA, Unidas de Conservacao por Bioma, 89.Ibid.

February 26, 2016. 90.MMA, 2016; CEPF, 2016.
87.Ibid. 91.Mario Barroso et al., reas Prioritrias para
88.Note that the total area in indigenous territories is Conservao do Cerrado e Pantanal, WWF Brasil, 2013.
9.6 Mha, of which 9.1 Mha is covered by native vegetation, 92.CEPF, 2016.
and the total area of quilombola areas totals 0.4 Mha, of
which about 0.2 Mha is covered by native vegetation. CEPF,
2016.
MAP 5: BRAZILS CERRADO, PROTECTED AREAS
Sources:
Protected Areas: http://mapas.mma.gov.br/mapas/aplic/probio/datadownload.htm
MAP 6: BRAZILS CERRADO, PROTECTED AREAS AND PRIORITY CONSERVATION AREAS
Sources:
Protected Areas & Priorities: Mario Barroso et al., reas Prioritrias para Conservao do Cerrado e Pantanal,
WWF Brasil, 2013.
MAP 7: BRAZILS CERRADO, KEY BIODIVERSITY AREAS
Sources:
KBAs: Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), Ecosystem Profile: Cerrado Biodiversity Hotspot, April 2016.
Cerrado Biodiversity Hotspot. December, 2015.
Other threats
Other threats to native habitat and community
lands must continue to be tracked, understood,
and mitigated.
Illegal fires
Fire is the most common method used to remove
natural vegetation in the Cerrado, even though
it is illegal. In addition to destroying native veg-
Photo: CEA
etation, fires are a significant source of GHG
emissions (including methane, nitrous oxide, and
black carbon), and their smoke can cause major
human health impacts. Brazil already has a strong These infrastructure investments will reduce cost
fire detection system; however, the capacity and delays for producers in the mid-west region of
to respond to fires is mixed and varies by area. Brazil, creating economic benefits for large-scale
ICMBio is responsible for fire suppression and agribusinesses focused on exports. At the same
control in conservation units, PrevFogo covers time, expansion of transportation infrastructure
most state-owned lands, and local fire brigades threatens to make the Matopiba region more
are responsible for managing fires on private attractive for large-scale agriculture, cause further
lands. Fire response is expensive and it will be direct deforestation, and open up new areas to
challenging to fund improved fire management accelerated deforestation due to improved ease
in a time of declining budgets, even though inter- of access. Transportation infrastructure is thus
national funds have been dedicated to this issue, a serious threat to native habitat and traditional
including from the FIP and various agencies in communities. The full suite of costs and benefits
the UK and Germany. of these investments should be carefully consid-
ered, and if the projects are undertaken, the routes
Infrastructure should be carefully planned to avoid the most
Both PDA-MATOPIBA and the governments valuable biological and social resources.
Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) will focus
on expanding investment in infrastructure, includ- Mining
ing expanded railways, highways, and ports. Gold mining brought some of the earliest non-
Infrastructure development is aimed at bringing indigenous settlers to the Cerrado biome in the
down storage, energy, and transportation costs in 18th century. Today, mining of iron ore depos-
order to increase the regions competitiveness in its accounts for less than one percent of the
domestic and international markets. Specifically, Cerrados territory.95 However, the roads, railroads,
PAC is focused on the development of new and pipelines that have been built to transport
hydropower, the completion of a 3,000 km North- this resource greatly expand the impact of mining.
South railway, support for a 2,700 km East-West Additionally, the steel industry has traditionally
railway (to connect Brazil to the Pacific Ocean), used charcoal burned from native woody species,
and expansion of the highway system including often harvested illegally.96 Today, charcoal for the
BR-235 in the state of Piau and the paving of steel industry is increasingly coming from
BR-163 in Mato Grosso.93 Additionally, a priority eucalyptus plantations. Harvesting of native
for the region has been the new Maranho Grain species for charcoal and expansion of eucalyptus
Terminal (Tegram), which was financed by a plantations are both contributing to deforestation
number of private companies including Glencore in the Cerrado.
Plc, Amaggi, Louis Dreyfus, and NovaAgri.94
93.MMA, Environmental Regularization Project Rural 94.Gustavo Bonato, Brazil Ships 1st Corn Cargo from
Property in the Cerrado CAR FIP. Forest Investment New Grains Terminal in Maranho, Reuters, July 2015.
Program FIP. Marco Environmental and Social Management 95.CEPF, 2016.
GMES. Version for Consultation (Braslia: January 2014). 96.Ibid.
PRIORITY 3 with Brazils sugarcane sector through ZAE
Incentives for conservation Cana, can encourage agricultural development
in certain areas (such as land that is already open
Ensuring sufficient incentives or degraded or land that is highly productive)
from public and private sources for and discourage agricultural development in
the conservation of surplus natural areas of high conservation value or areas that are
habitats on private and communally important for traditional communities. This kind
managed lands of regional targeting of agricultural development
could also be incorporated into new programs,
The Cerrado is largely held by private landowners. such as PDA-MATOPIBA, or used to bolster
The behavior of these landowners will deter- smart compensation. Smart compensation is
mine the future of the biome and will be strongly the concept of guiding Forest Code compensa-
influenced by the range of incentives and disin- tion credits to areas where contiguous corridors
centives for land use decisions, from both public can be consolidated and areas with high carbon
and private sources. Incentives that can support stocks, important hydrological function, habitat
sustainable management of communally man- for endemic or endangered species, or particular
aged or public lands will also be important. Strong socioeconomic value.98
Forest Code implementation should protect a
baseline amount of native vegetation and prevent
development in highly environmentally sensitive
Corporate commitments and
areas. However, protecting more than the base- supply chain incentives
line Forest Code requirements will depend upon Corporate commitments and corporate support
aligning incentives to ensure that landowners view can play an instrumental role in efforts to protect
preservation as valuable. There is relatively little native habitat and to protect land tenure and land
direct funding for such voluntary protections. Yet it access rights for communities and family farmers.
is important to have good mechanisms in place to Market access can serve as a very powerful incen-
capture what funding does exist and to continue tive. In the Amazon, soy and beef commitments
to explore creative ways to build incentives that do have helped keep goods produced on recently
not require large cash outlays. deforested lands from entering supply chains.
Recent analysis shows that both of these private
Credits sector initiatives have been effective in changing
the purchasing practices of key supply chain actors
The Brazilian federal government provides by far and in reducing deforestation.99
the largest pool of available resources to incen-
tivize landowners, primarily in the form of credits. Zero-deforestation commitments on the part of
However, these are used almost exclusively to leading global brands and trade associations that
support large agribusiness rather than agroecolog- work in Brazil are proliferating. These commit-
ical production or protection of native vegetation. ments typically include pledges to make supply
Moving forward, there may be opportunities to chains deforestation-free by a certain date, to
use a range of public and private credits, including respect human and labor rights, and to support
under the ABC Plan and The Harvest Plan,97 to land tenure and the economic development
guide expansion of crops, encourage conserva- of communities and family farmers. Cargill,
tion of native habitat beyond the level required McDonalds, and Unilever have all made strong
by the Forest Code, and promote the adoption commitments to make their supply chains defor-
of agroecological and low-carbon practices (See estation-free.100 These individual corporate com-
Priority 4). Tying credits to zoning, as was done mitments have followed the 2010 pledge by the
97.Brazils Harvest Plan is the primary source of agricultural 99.Holly K. Gibbs et al., Brazils Soy Moratorium,
credits for large and medium producers in Brazil, providing Science 347, no. 6220 (2015): 377378; Holly K. Gibbs
a mix of credits with subsidized interest rates and interest et al., Did Ranchers and Slaughterhouses Respond to
rates at parity with the market. Family farmers in Brazil are Zero-Deforestation Agreements in the Brazilian Amazon?
supported by a separate credit program under the National Conservation Letters (2015).
Program for the Strengthening of Family Agriculture 100.Cargill Policy on Forests, Cargill, September
(PRONAF). Ministrio da Agricultura, 23, 2014; McDonalds Corporation Commitment on
Pecuria e Abastecimento, Plano Agrcola e Pecurio Deforestation, McDonalds Corporation, April 21, 2015;
20152016 (Braslia: 2015). Eliminating Deforestation, Unilever, https://www.
98.Machado and Anderson et al., 2016. unilever.com/sustainable-living/transformational-change/
eliminating-deforestation/.
Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) to help achieve
zero net deforestation by 2020.101 While the CGF
commitment is to zero net deforestation, many
Zero vs. Zero Net
of the individual company commitments are to Deforestation
zero deforestation. (See callout box on this page.) Zero deforestation is a commitment to rid an area
Additionally, the 2014 New York Declaration or a supply chain of all deforestation.
on Forests, which calls for a reduction of forest Zero net deforestation allows for deforestation as
loss by half by the year 2020 and a total end to long as another area of equal size is restored.
deforestation by 2030, was signed by dozens of
Advocates for zero net deforestation explain that
countries, sub-national governments, private com-
the concept does not simply require the resto-
panies, NGOs, and indigenous groups.102 (Note ration of an area equivalent in size to a converted
that Brazil is not a signatory of the New York area. Rather, zero net deforestation aims to
Declaration on Forests, but several Amazonian maintain primary or well-conserved ecosystems.
states are.) It allows only for low levels of conversion of
ecosystems exclusively for maintaining the liveli-
Currently, the question of the appropriate target
hoods and the subsistence of local communities.
for reducing deforestation in the Cerrado is an
In order to offset this inevitable deforestation,
open one. Pushing for agreement on this target an area of the same size with equivalent social
should be a priority for the private sector and civil and environmental characteristics should be
society to achieve clarity and alignment and to restored.103
allow implementation to begin in earnest. While
Critics of zero net deforestation point out that
full adherence to zero-deforestation commitments
the concept can make sense in well-defined
(e.g., expansion of the Amazons soy moratorium regions but doesnt work well with supply chains,
to the Cerrado) will likely not be palatable for key and the approach is difficult to monitor and
parts of the agribusiness sector, agreement on enforce in practice.
more moderate targets should be achievable. For 103.Machado and Anderson et al., 2016.
example, a great starting point for the Cerrado
would be a target commitment that includes: 1)
compliance with the Forest Code, 2) establish-
ment of go/no-go zones around areas of high
conservation value and community/indigenous The Brazil Rural Society (SRB), in partnership
lands, 3) avoidance of areas that have social with the MMA, Conservation International, the
conflicts (e.g., evidence of land grabbing, violence, Global Environmental Facility (GEF), and the
or significant land disputes), and 4) exclusion of Inter-American Development Bank, are demon-
producers that rely on slave labor. Sectors could strating some appetite for voluntary conservation
then work toward full implementation of zero-de- targets. Through their Matopiba 2020 initiative,
forestation commitments by a future date. the group has proposed a target of 40 percent
native habitat conservation in key parts of the
Determining an appropriate target in the Cerrado Cerrado biome in total (including all conservation
will be challenging and may create tension units, indigenous lands, and Forest Code require-
between different actors within agricultural supply ments).104 At the same time, any level of volun-
chains. For example, CGF has just established tary conservation on the part of the agribusiness
new principles that explicitly call out the Cerrado industry is becoming harder to achieve
as a landscape where its net-zero-deforestation through corporate commitments because Brazils
commitments will apply. At the same time, most soy exports increasingly flow to China, which
large agricultural producers operating in Matopiba has historically demonstrated less corporate
seem to take the position that their environmental responsibility leadership.105
obligations can be sufficiently met through
compliance with the Forest Code.
101.Deforestation Resolution, Consumer Goods Forum, 104.Sociedade Rural Brasileira, Conservation International
November 2010. Brazil, and FBDS, Matopiba 2020 Vanguarda para um
102.UN Climate Summit 2014, Forests Action Statement Futuro Produtivo e Sustentvel, October 2015.
and Action Plans, September 23, 2014. 105.In 2014, China was the destination for about
70% of whole soybean exports. Roughly half of all
soybeans produced in Brazil are exported as whole beans.
MDIC-Aliceweb.
It is important to note that until corporate actors both supply and demand, have often supported
have access to robust satellite monitoring of only best actors, and have offered little to no
deforestation in the Cerrado, those actors will be price premium, meaning farmers have not been
unable to implement and honor zero-deforesta- compensated for their investments. In the beef
tion commitments. This fact creates yet another sector, the Brazilian Roundtable on Sustainable
imperative for expedient launches of both the Livestock (GTPS) and the Global Roundtable for
PRODES Cerrado and DETER Cerrado satellite Sustainable Beef (GRSB) both offer development
monitoring systems. In the meantime, companies and dissemination of best practices and technical
with supply chain commitments should ensure that guidance on sustainable practices. To date, certi-
suppliers register with the CAR and adhere to fications have not been part of either GTPSs or
commitments concerning human, labor, and GRSBs programs.
land rights.
Granting preferential or expanded market access Payment for Ecosystem Services
to stakeholders that comply with these commit- (PES)
ments or policies is a promising incentive-based PES has long been touted as a way for farmers
approach. Implementing zero-deforestation to secure funds for conservation from parties
commitments in partnership with select munici- that have an economic interest in the ecosystem
palities may be a strategic way to begin working services provided by forest or watershed conser-
in the Cerrado. At the sector level, companies vation (e.g., downstream water quantity or quality
could identify those municipalities that are most that can result from better protection of water
important to their supply chain and express the springs or water recharge zones). A PES scheme
strongest will and capacity for this kind of partner- could harness private sector or philanthropic
ship. Together, they could set targets for reduced dollars from local, national, or international actors.
deforestation rates and provide incentives to pro- Proposed legislation to create a national PES
ducers for compliance (e.g., fast tracking permits, policy has been introduced in Congress, but has
preferential market access). This kind of jurisdic- been stalled since February 2015.
tional approach is championed by a number of
The ANA has already successfully piloted a PES
conservation organizations working in Brazil.106
program, called the Water Producer Program. This
program provides financial and technical assis-
Certifications
tance to landowners for natural resource resto-
Another incentive for producers is increased ration and conservation programs that can reduce
demand for certifications, such as those promoted erosion and sedimentation, thereby improving
by the Roundtable for Responsible Soy (RTRS), water quality and the overall hydrological health
Alianca da Terra (ADT), and Soja Plus, which of watersheds. As of 2015, 38 projects covering
allow corporations to reward responsible growers 400,000 ha had been established or were in prog-
with access to premium markets, and potentially ress.107 Though these pilots have been success-
a price premium for nontransgenic soy. Though ful, legislation would help the model scale more
not necessarily aligned with zero-deforestation rapidly. State- and municipal-level PES programs
commitments, these frameworks do support a should also be explored and expanded. Mato
range of best practices and could be strength- Grossos State REDD+ System (Law 9.878/2013),
ened to include zero-deforestation principles that which was designed to provide economic incen-
may help promote their wider adoption. To date, tives for reduced deforestation, is one example.
certification schemes have faced shortcomings in
106.Earth Innovation Institute, Territorial Performance 107.Dos Santos and Devanir Garcia, Productor de
System, June 2015. Agua Seminario do PPA, Brazil National Water Agency,
March 2015.
Photo: Bento Viana/ISPN
X-CRA out a number of technical and regulatory details.
One idea suggested by Brazilian academics is At present, the task should be to focus on getting
to use the CRA offset market as a platform for the CRA working for compliance, but to design it
a range of land-related environmental services in such a way that it would be possible to establish
(e.g., carbon, biodiversity, water).108 Built on the an X-CRA-type system in the future.
foundation of the Forest Code compensation
trading system (the CRA), the X-CRA would be Tourism
a PES system that allows any buyer (not just those A final idea for creating incentives for native
seeking Forest Code compliance) to pay for intact habitat is for federal, state, and local governments,
vegetation or associated ecosystem services. This in partnership with communities and private
mechanism has the potential to direct voluntary developers, to support an agenda for strength-
funding streams, such as those from corporate ening the tourism industry in the Cerrado. The
buyers, international carbon markets, or interna- Cerrado landscape is very beautiful, with water-
tional mechanisms such as REDD+, to the native falls, colorful birds, vistas, and charming towns.
habitat in Brazil. While the quantity of voluntary Opportunities for bird-watching, hiking, rafting,
funding may be limited, the trading platform and cultural experiences, and a range of other outdoor
monitoring, reporting, and verification that will adventures are plentiful. A strengthened tourism
need to be built into the CRA system to promote industry would increase the value of native habitat,
Forest Code compliance would provide a rela- protected areas, and traditional communities and
tively straightforward entry point for buyers, and practices, as it has in many other parts of Brazil
would thus be an effective way to capture funds. and in other countries.
Developing such a market would require working
108.Rajo and Soares-Filho,

Cotas de Reserva Ambiental, 2015.
PRIORITY 4
Improved sustainability
and productivity of existing
agricultural lands and
pasturelands
Encouraging sustainable intensification
of pasturelands, mainstreaming
Photo: CEA
low-carbon agricultural practices,
expanding adoption of other sustainable
practices, and supporting traditional
agricultural products associated with the cattle herd by improving
Agriculture and livestock production are tremen- forage quality, and 4) help sequester carbon in
dously important to Brazils economy, accounting grasslands. Analysis by Brazilian scientists indi-
for over 35 percent of Brazils exports, by value.109 cates that productivity increases in pasturelands
Agriculture and livestock production also domi- could allow crops to expand onto freed up pas-
nate much of the Cerrados landscape; approxi- tureland without clearing any more natural veg-
mately 19 Mha are dedicated to agricultural crops etation.114 Productivity improvements on Brazils
and 50 Mha to pastureland (as of 2002).110 Across pastures might save as much as 250 to 450 Mt
Brazil, crop production is expected to expand CO2e per year by 2030, through both reduced
by 33.5 Mha through 2040 to meet growing deforestation and reduced enteric fermentation
demand.111 However, through sustainable intensifi- emissions.115 According to Strassburg et al., 2014,
cation of pastureland and restoration of degraded about 40 percent (20 Mha) of the potential for
pastureland, it is theoretically possible to freeze pasture restoration is found in the Cerrado (and
the footprint of pastureland while increasing its another 10 percent, or 5.6 Mha, is found in the
economic productivity.112 At the same time, there transition areas between the Amazon-Cerrado
is enormous opportunity to improve the ecolog- and Caatinga-Cerrado).116
ical performance of cropland in terms of GHG It is important to note that agricultural intensifi-
emissions, water quality, soil health, toxicity, and cation is not a panacea. There can be downsides
biodiversity through broader adoption of low-car- to intensification, in particular soil compaction,
bon agricultural practices and other ecologically the potential for water quality degradation and
and socially sound production methods, including increased methane emissions if manure becomes
those typically employed in traditional agricultural too concentrated, and increased use of fertilizers
systems. and chemicals. Moreover, there is considerable
debate among academics and thought leaders
Sustainable intensification across Brazil and internationally regarding the
of pasturelands validity of the land sparing theory. Many believe
Brazils low density of cattle (<1 head per hectare), that intensification alone might increase the prof-
spread out over 20 percent of Brazils total area, itability of cattle production, creating an economic
offers considerable room for intensification.113 incentive for increasing the size of the herd and
Intensification of pastureland can 1) reduce the thus counteracting its land sparing benefits
land required to produce cattle, thus reducing (a phenomenon known as the rebound effect).
pressure on forests, 2) free up land for crop expan- Any effort to support intensification would be
sion, thus reducing pressure on forests, 3) reduce most effective if done in a way that ensures
the enteric fermentation (methane) emissions the social and ecological sustainability of
109.Belinky, 2014. 114.Strassburg et al., 2014.

110.MMA, PROBIO Land Cover Map (Brazil, 2002). 115.Strassburg et al., 2014; Cohn et al., Cattle Ranching
111.Strassburg et al., 2014. Intensification in Brazil Can Reduce Global Greenhouse Gas
112.Ibid. Emissions by Sparing Land from Deforestation, Proceedings
113.Pasture intensification means increasing the productivity of the National Academy of Sciences 111 (2014): 72367241.
from a given unit of land by improving forage quality, rather 116.Strassburg et al., 2014.
than by expanding the land footprint.
intensification and is coupled with complementary Tying mainstream credits and investment to inten-
instruments such as environmental compliance, sification benchmarks, including through Brazils
land regularization, and supply chain governance Harvest Plan and credits extended through the
as a way of mitigating the rebound effect. supply chain, would further support intensification.
Additionally, there may be opportunities to better
Economics of intensification target credits to those lands that are best suited
Preliminary studies indicate that pasture intensifi- for restoration, reforestation, or conversion to
cation can deliver economic benefits to ranchers crops. Conversely, withholding credit and invest-
over the long term. For example, a pilot program ments from recipients who are engaging in unsus-
that helped ranchers in Northern Mato Grosso tainable or overly extensive practices could be
adopt production practices based on Embrapas part of the strategy for promoting intensification.
Good Agricultural Practices delivered increases in
productivity, stocking density, and gross margins.117 Technical assistance and other strategies
However, it is not yet clear whether expanding Intensive management practices require new
onto degraded pasturelands is economical for knowledge and changes in longstanding culture
producers of soy or other crops, compared with and habits. Thus, technical assistance and training
converting native vegetation. It can take several is required for ranchers, for those directly dealing
years of significant investments to boost produc- with cattle health management, and for others
tion after moving soy onto degraded pastures. along the supply chain.119 While some of the
Comparatively, forested land is generally cheaper burden for this assistance will lie with government,
to buy, and the first couple years of production on it may also be useful to support private sector
newly cleared land typically produce high yields, businesses specializing in this sort of technical
but clearing forest and preparing the ground for assistance.
crops can be expensive depending on the region,
Other strategies to support sustainable intensifi-
land value, and local policy. A more detailed
cation that are being piloted and pursued by the
assessment of the relative costs of clearing
private, public, and civil society sectors include
new land versus restoring degraded pastures is
demonstration projects, intensification feasibility
currently being conducted by soy supply chain
mapping, and decision-support tools for supply
experts in Brazil.
chain actors. One such example is the 2012 GTPS
memorandum of understanding (MOU) with
The role of credits
MAPA, the MMA, and Embrapa for cooperation
There are many barriers to transitioning pasture- in achieving the goal of recovering 15 Mha of
lands and ranching operations to more intensive degraded pasture, in accordance with the PNMC.
management practices. To begin with, despite the GTPSs activities under this MOU include cre-
long-term economic benefits, more intensive herd ating demonstration units and training centers.120
management methods typically require upfront More efforts along these lines are needed.
financial investments for fencing machinery, labor,
and pastureland management. Therefore, credits Another factor driving extensive management of
will play an important role in promoting inten- cattle is the fact that grazing is sometimes used as
sification of pastureland. Recovery of degraded a method to establish and maintain land tenure.
pasture is one of the primary targets of the ABC Establishing an official land tenure registry is key
Plan. In fact, from January 2013 through March to combat this trend as it provides a formal means
2015, roughly 40 percent of all of the dispersed for defining and maintaining land ownership.
ABC credits were for pasture recovery.118 (See Map 8.)
117.Silvia Franz Marcuzzo and Andra de Lima, Novo 119.Latawiec et al., 2014.
Campo Program: A Strategy for Sustainable Cattle 120.Brazilian Roundtable on Sustainable Livestock,
Ranching in the Amazon (Alta Floresta-MT: ICV, 2015). Pathways for Sustainable Beef (summary of presentations
118.Direct correspondence with the Ministry of Finance, delivered at the IV Internal Seminar of the Brazilian
March 2016. Roundtable on Sustainable Livestock BRSL, So Paulo,
Brazil, November 29, 2012).
MAP 8: LAND USE IN MATOPIBA
Sources:
Deforestation: http://maps.lapig.iesa.ufg.br/lapig.html
Protected Areas: http://mapas.mma.gov.br/i3geo/datadownload.htm#
Cropland/Pasture*: http://mapas.mma.gov.br/mapas/aplic/probio/datadownload.htm
*Interpretation of Landsat TM satellite images, taken in base year 2002 and field work in August 2005
Low-carbon agriculture requirements, lack of training and knowledge
Expansion of low-carbon agriculture practices among bankers regarding the practices the pro-
on established farmland also has an important gram is designed to support, an interest rate that is
role to play in the long-term sustainability of only marginally lower than that of traditional loans,
the agriculture sector in the Cerrado and across and the fact that these practices require training
Brazil. Brazils ABC Plan was established as the and education. Lastly, no specific monitoring of
agriculture and livestock sector element of the the ABC plan has occurred yet, so we dont know
National Policy on Climate Change. Launched in if the plan has in fact reduced emissions.
the 2010/2011 crop year, it provides a dedicated There are a number of ways to address the
set of government credits specifically designed to shortcomings in the ABC program. These include
support low-carbon agriculture practices. In total, establishing a monitoring system, providing better
the ABC Plan aims to mitigate 133.9 to 162.9 Mt training to the bank officers who issue the loans,
CO2e from 2010 through 2020.121 increasing the percentage of credits that can be
The ABC Plan is structured into seven programs used for technical assistance to more than 2 per-
(with GHG abatement targets included):122 cent, better targeting loans to farms where pasture
restoration or integrated agriculture will most ben-
1. Recovery of degraded pastureland (83104 efit the landscape, and improving the design of the
Mt CO2e) loans so that they are better suited for ranchers,
2. Crop-livestock-forestry integration system who often need more time to repay investments
(1822 Mt CO2e) on pasture restoration (e.g., 810 years rather than
13 years). An ideal outcome of the ABC Plan
3. No-tillage systems (1620 Mt CO2e) would be to integrate support or requirements for
4. Biological nitrogen fixation (10 Mt CO2e) these low-carbon practices into the Harvest Plan,
Brazils primary agricultural credit facility.
5. Planted forests (the total mitigation contri-
bution to be calculated as part of the iron
industry sectoral plan) Sustainable and
traditional agriculture
6. Animal waste treatment (6.9 Mt CO2e), and
Much of the national and international atten-
7. Adaptation to climate change tion paid to agriculture in Brazil is focused on
large-scale agriculture, which primarily produces
Brazil may be unique on the global stage for
commodity crops for national and international
having a major government program aimed
consumption. However, Brazil also has a strong
primarily at reducing GHGs from agriculture, and
alternative field of agricultural producers span-
supporting the ABC has been a priority for the
ning a range of traditions from agroextractivists
FIP and other sources of international funding.
to small-scale family farms. These agricultural
Nevertheless, at roughly R$4.5 billion (2013/2014),
models even have separate ministries: MAPA for
the ABC Plan is dwarfed by Brazils general invest-
large- and medium-scale farmers and the MDA
ments in the agricultural sector. The Harvest Plan
for small-scale farmers. All of these types of
allocated R$187 billion in agricultural credits for
producers could be better supported in making
the 2015/2016 growing season.123
their practices more sustainable. Brazils large- and
The ABC Plan has not been widely accessed, medium-scale farmers should face stronger regu-
evenly distributed, or well monitored. Only R$3 lations and incentives to reduce use of agrochem-
billion was actually distributed in 2013/2014, due to icals, exercise better stewardship over waterways,
low demand for the funds. Although the distribu- and improve conditions for farm laborers. Small-
tion of the funds has since improved, it has been scale producers and agroextractivists, meanwhile,
concentrated in regions with superior access to need better access to credit, technical assistance,
technical assistance, such as southern and west- and guarantees or support for their markets so
ern Cerrado. Barriers to uptake of ABC credits that their culture and livelihoods can thrive.
include burdensome paperwork and complicated
121.MAPA, Plano Setorial de Mitigao e de Adaptao s 122.Ibid.

Mudanas Climticas para a Consolidao de Uma Economia 123.MAPA, 2015.
de Baixa Emisso de Carbono na Agricultura: Plano ABC
(Agricultura de Baixa Emisso de Carbono) (Braslia: MAPA/
ACS, 2012).
Better enforcement of
pesticide and labor laws
Over the last few decades, Brazils agricultural
sector has become increasingly industrialized. In
2013, Brazil purchased USD$10 billion of pesti-

cides, or 20 percent of the global market, and it is
now the largest buyer in the world.124 A number
of pesticides that are banned in the United States
and Europe are legally sold in Brazil, and even
though Brazil has relatively lax laws, much of
the food grown and sold in the country violates
national regulations.125 Many point to Brazils
powerful agricultural lobby as a key factor block-
ing a better regulatory environment governing to agrochemical and labor laws across their
pesticides.126 The overuse of dangerous pesticides supply chains, or better yet, by adopting certifi-
poses a great risk to the public health of farm cations or guidelines that support best practices
workers and rural communities, often the most for sustainability in agricultural production. (See
poor and vulnerable. For example, in 2013, a crop Certifications on page 38.)
duster sprayed insecticide on a school, hospitaliz-
ing 30 schoolchildren and teachers.127 Better support for agroecological principles
and traditional agricultural products
There are similarly grave concerns with respect to
Brazil has a rich history of small-scale agricultural
farm labor. Since 1995, when Brazil acknowledged
traditions and is a stronghold of agroecological
in the International Labor Organization that slave
producers. The federal government has estab-
labor was a problem in the country, almost 47,000
lished a number of policies and plans to support
workers have been rescued from conditions that
these practices. A prime example is the 2012
include forced labor, unsanitary or dangerous
National Policy on Agroecology and Organic
conditions, and restrictions of civil liberties. Of
Production (PNAPO), which aims to increase
the workers found in such compromised positions,
food security, sustainable use of natural resources,
most were migrants from Cerrado states.128 Today,
and valuation of agro-biodiversity and socio-diver-
the agriculture and livestock sectors are most likely
sity. A National Plan on Agroecology and Organic
to have labor transgressions. Of the workers found
Production (PLANAPO) was developed to
in restrictive or dangerous conditions from 2003
advance the objectives of PNAPO.130 PLANAPO
to 2014, 29% were working in the livestock sector,
dedicated R$7 billion in credits for agroecological
25% in sugarcane production, and 19% in other
production between 2013 and 2015 and identified
crop production.129
other tools to support the transition to agroeco-
To date, much of the attention that civil society logical practices, including tax measures, technical
has brought to the Brazilian agricultural sector has assistance, and funding for research and innova-
been focused on deforestation, but it is important tion. Unfortunately, neither the policy nor the plan
that other environmental and social consider- has been well funded or well implemented and as
ations receive increased attention. Corporate a result, the communities slated to benefit from
actors have a role to play by ensuring adherence these programs have continued to struggle.
124.Note: pesticides include herbicides, insecticides, and 129.Ibid.

fungicides, together known as agrotoxicos in Portuguese. 130.The governance of PNAPO and implementation of
Paulo Prada, Why Brazil Has a Big Appetite for Risky PLANAPO are the responsibility of the National Committee
Pesticides, Reuters Investigates, April 12, 2015. of Agroecology and Organic Production (CNAPO) and
125.Ibid. the Interministerial Chamber of Agroecology and Organic
126.Ibid. Production (CIAPO). CNAPO includes representatives
127.Ibid. from 14 government agencies and 14 civil society
128.Of these, 23.9% were from Maranho, 9.4% from organizations. The executive secretariat of CIAPO
Bahia, 8.3% from Minas Gerais, 5.6% from Tocantins, and sits with the MDA.
5.5% from both Piau and Mato Grosso. Trabalho Escravo
Contemporneo: 20 Anos de Combate (19952015),
Reporter Brasil, 2015.
FIGURE 5: CONCENTRATION OF FAMILY FARMS IN THE CERRADO STATES
Source: IBGE - Censo Agropecurio, 2006. There is a greater concentration of family farms in Matopiba than in Southern
Cerrado. Though Southern Cerrado is 2.3 times larger that Matopiba, there are 400,000 more family farms in Matopiba. The
available data on characteristics of the agricultural sector is only available by state rather than by the state area within the biome.
The National Plan for Promotion of Socio- producers reach institutional markets, and the
Biodiversity Value Chains (PNPSB) is another National Program for School Meals (PNAE),
plan that deserves enhanced support. Created which mandates that 30 percent of school meal
in 2009, it is designed to promote conservation budgets be used to purchase food produced by
and sustainable management of sociobiodiversity family farmers, traditional communities, indige-
products (e.g., pequi fruit, babau fruit, and native nous people, and quilombolas, have been effective
honey) by strengthening production chains in in sustaining small-scale farmers and should be
all biomes, relevant financial mechanisms, tradi- continued and strengthened.
tional knowledge networks, and the social and
Broadly speaking, good programs have been
productive capacity of quilombolas, indigenous
designed to promote agroecological prac-
peoples, traditional communities and smallholders.
tices, agroextractivists, and small-scale farming.
However, it has also lacked the political will nec-
However, these programs have not received the
essary to ensure its success and desired impact.
political support necessary to achieve their stated
Another key source of funding for the sustainable
goals. Small-scale farmers across Brazil require
use of biodiversity by local communities in the
enhanced technical assistance, financing, and
Cerrado, the GEF-UNDP Small Grants Program,
guaranteed markets. They have a much harder
which invested USD$10 million into more than 100
time accessing these kinds of resources than
projects, was recently discontinued.
medium- and large-scale farmers do. They need
Finally, policies focused on direct acquisition of significantly more support in order to develop the
products from small-scale farmers have been agricultural economies that can allow their cultures
instrumental to family farming and traditional and communities to thrive, especially given the
peoples communities and need better support in pressures they are facing from advancing large-
the current financial crisis. Specifically, the Food scale production and climate change.
Acquisition Program (PAA), which aims to help
PRIORITY 5
Building the case for
biodiversity and landscape
conservation

Highlighting and enhancing scientific
research on the importance of water and
its relationship with native vegetation,
and on impacts of climate variability
in the Cerrado
Waters originating in the Cerrado support agri-
culture, hydropower generation, and downstream the region.135 Many experts strongly believe that
cities and rural populations (inside and outside the these dynamics are already in play. CEPF calls for
Cerrado biome). Because the Cerrado is a central maintaining half of the biome in native vegetation
plateau, rainwater falling in its highlands runs in order to mitigate the effects of climate change
off in all directions and feeds major rivers across on the region, specifically for the maintenance of
South America.131 Ten of Brazils twelve major river precipitation patterns.136
systems flow in part through the Cerrado. The
headwaters of three major rivers, the Tocantins, Further research is also needed to better under-
So Francisco, and Paran, lie in the Cerrado.132 stand the relationships between natural vegetation
As a result, the Cerrado is widely considered the conversion and local and regional temperatures,
cradle of Brazils water or the large water tank of precipitation, surface water flows, groundwater
Brazil.133 The implications of water management recharge rate, water retention in soils, erosion
in the Cerrado reach far beyond the biome. prevention, flood risk, and health and longevity of
water springs. Research on these issues would be
Water risks very helpful for land use planning in the Cerrado
and in Matopiba in particular. Specifically, the
There is mounting scientific evidence and grow- following questions would be useful to address:
ing concern among a range of stakeholders in
Brazil that the Cerrado biome is vulnerable to Are there certain thresholds of natural habitat
water stress, and that such stress could have major conversion at the watershed level that will
repercussions for the countrys water supply. trigger a step-change in negative economic
Because the Cerrado has such a strong seasonal impacts on downstream actors (e.g., agri-
climate with pronounced wet and dry seasons, it cultural yields, hydropower, municipal water
is particularly vulnerable to precipitation shocks supply)? That is, at what point do changes in
and long-term climatic changes. The vast majority land cover affect local and regional precipita-
of agriculture in the Cerrado is rain-fed, so even tion patterns and, thus, agricultural productiv-
small changes to precipitation patterns could ity and water supply?
significantly affect crop yields.134 Although the Are there certain priority areas where intact
scientific literature on the topic is not conclusive, native vegetation is most important from a
the research to date suggests that too much climate and hydrology perspective? Can
natural vegetation conversion in the Cerrado these be identified on a watershed-by-
could seriously threaten hydrological cycles in watershed basis?
131.Jorge Enoch, Situation and Prospects for the 135.Ana Cludia Malhado, Gabrielle Pires, and Marcos
Cerrado Waters, 2011. Costa, Cerrado Conservation is Essential to Protect the
132.Enoch, 2011; Paulo Tarso and Sanches de Oliveira, Amazon Rainforest, AMBIO: A Journal of the Human
Water Balance and Soil Erosion in the Brazilian Cerrado, Environment 39, no. 8 (2010): 580584; Marcos Costa
University of So Paulo, 2014. and Gabrielle Pires, Effects of Amazon and Central Brazil
133.Enoch, 2011. Deforestation Scenarios on the Duration of the
134.Spera et al., Land-Use Change Affects Water Dry Season in the Arc of Deforestation, International
Recycling in Brazils Last Agricultural Frontier, Journal of Climatology 30, no. 13 (2010): 19701979.
Global Change Biology (2016). 136.CEPF, 2016.
Climate change risks PES: Given the number of downstream cities,
Global climate change will likely compound municipalities, and hydropower generators
the pressure on the Cerrados water supply. A that rely on water from rivers flowing through
Brazilian Panel on Climate Change study found the Cerrado, PES schemes could help to
that the Midwest and Northeastern regions of channel investments from downstream water
Brazil (largely overlapping with the Cerrado) are users to upstream conservation efforts.
projected to be the most affected by forthcoming Targeted CRA trading: The trading of CRA
climate change. Studies developed by INPE and credits could be guided to protect areas that
Embrapa suggest that temperatures will increase are particularly valuable from a water resource
by between 1 and 5.8 degrees C in the Midwest perspective. This kind of targeting would help
by 2070, creating a drier and warmer dry season. to optimize the benefits of the Forest Codes
Furthermore, most of the rivers in the Midwest will compensation mechanism, but requires
see reduced flow in the years from 2017 to 2100. In rule-making to constrain the market in
terms of the effects of climate change on biodi- certain ways.
versity, a 2003 study of Cerrado flora found that Incentives for water conservation practices:
10 to 32 percent of 162 analyzed tree species could As credit programs for climate-smart agricul-
end up without habitable areas in the Cerrado ture are revised or expanded, it may be possi-
region or could go extinct by 2055.137 Additionally, ble to extend cheaper credit lines to individual
over half of the species were projected to decline growers or whole sub-basins that are taking
by more than 90 percent in the Cerrado, with steps to improve water management and
major range shifts to the south and east.138 climate resiliency. Preferential market access
for these parties may also be possible. Banks
Mitigating water and climate risks may be compelled to integrate more water
Although understanding water resources and cli- conservation safeguards into their loans to
mate adaptation strategies in the Cerrado requires producers as well as for infrastructure because
more research, there are already some well-under- of the risks inherent in variable water supply.
stood solutions with little downside to help build Likewise, corporate buyers of agricultural
resiliency in the face of global climate change. products may begin to add water conservation
Many of these solutions have been touched upon safeguards into their purchasing agreements
in earlier sections of this document. or loans.
Strategic restoration: Restoration through
the Forest Code will be an important way to
support adaptation measures in the Cerrado.
One strategy is to target restoration support
to areas that are expected to be refuges for
flora and fauna species as ranges shift due to
climate change.
137.Ibid.
138.CEPF, 2016.
MAP 9: WATERSHEDS OF BRAZIL
Sources:
Hydrography: http://www.fao.org/geonetwork/srv/en/main.home
Aquifers: WWF
RESEARCH
AGENDA
Gaps in knowledge about the Cerrado, including lack of information about

biodiversity, carbon stocks, traditional communities, and hydrology, contribute
to uninformed development that threatens the long-term ecological and
economic health of the biome.
A range of efforts are beginning to address Land cover and hydrological cycles
these gaps. For example: As noted above, there is mounting scientific
CEPF recently developed a thorough ecosys- evidence and growing concern among a range
tem assessment of the Cerrado that includes of stakeholders in Brazil that the Cerrado biome
a map of key biodiversity areas and conserva- is hydrologically fragile and that the risk of water
tion corridors.139 supply disruptions is serious. Intact vegetation
The FIP recently committed R$60 million to could be one of the most important variables
a new project designed to collect and dissemi- for ensuring a sustainable water supply, especially
nate information on forest resources, including in the context of a changing global and regional
diversity and abundance of forest species, climate.
estimates of forest stock and above- and Research on the relationship between hydrolog-
below-ground carbon stock, and use of forest ical cycles and land cover in the Cerrado would
products by local populations.140 be very helpful for land use planning. Field-level
The Ministry of Science, Technology and research in the region should be combined with
Innovation (MCTI) has established an initia- modeled results. Because the findings may vary
tive called ComCerrado that aims to establish from sub-basin to sub-basin, specific locations
protocols for monitoring biodiversity in the should be targeted (e.g., Matopiba) to help
Cerrado and to conduct survey sampling develop a more complete understanding of
across the biome to determine ecosystem high-priority parts of the region. The ultimate
health and function. objective of this work would be to define as clearly
LAPIG and Agrosatelite have developed as possible the likely hydrological, social, ecolog-
pasture and crop maps, respectively, for ical, and economic effects of different develop-
all of Brazil. ment scenarios.
Efforts such as these to perform new research, Soil carbon
develop repositories of existing data and infor-
mation, and map resources for the Cerrado The Cerrado holds a high proportion of its
biome are critically important. What follows is a carbon in root systems and soils, but the amount
list of some of the highest priority research gaps of this carbon is uncertain. Furthermore, the
that persist, though the list is not intended to be loss of below-ground carbon resulting from land
comprehensive, and in some cases, efforts may be use change is hard to estimate accurately. More
underway to address the gaps already. Answering conclusive mapping of the carbon in the Cerrados
these research questions will be particularly helpful root systems and soils, as well as estimates of
in guiding development and conservation in the the carbon lost when land is converted, would
Cerrado and across Brazil. be helpful to understand and prioritize areas
for protection.
139.Ibid. 140.Izabela Prates, Bioma Cerrado Contar com

60 Milhes de Reais para Pesquisa, MundoGeo,
September 2015.
Traditional communities mapping Ecosystem service valuation
Part of the misperception about the Cerrado is Given that the Cerrado is an economic priority
that it is an open and empty land not currently for Brazil, it would be extremely useful to quantify
occupied or in productive use. In many parts of the the value of the natural resources in the biome
biome that is simply not the case. In late August (e.g., carbon stocks, water resources, soil health,
2015, the MIQCB published a map of the remain- biodiversity, pollinators) in financial terms. A
ing babau forestsnearly 30 Mha that stretch recent assessment by the TEEB for Business Brazil
across northern Maranho and Tocantins.141 The Project highlighted the environmental value of
MIQCB is hopeful that the map will be a useful agricultural practices of two companies, Natura
tool for traditional communities in defending their and Monsanto, in order to demonstrate the envi-
access to the babau forest and informing local, ronmental and economic benefits generated by
state, and federal planning efforts. more sustainable agricultural production prac-
tices.142 Quantifying the financial risks of deplet-
Many other traditional communities in Matopiba
ing the biomes natural resources would likewise
and elsewhere in the Cerrado have conducted
be valuable. Putting these resources in financial
similar mapping efforts or have mapping efforts
terms would allow the government and other
underway, often as a collaboration between com-
actors to understand the trade-offs of different
munities and mapping technicians. Continuation
development scenarios. Of course, good ecosys-
of such efforts is important. A detailed under-
tem valuation data is difficult to come by, but the
standing of where these traditional communities
assessment tools and methodologies in this field
are and what natural resources they depend upon
are getting better all the time. Investing in this
is essential to developing good land use plans and
knowledge base is certainly worthwhile.
is a necessary step toward establishing conserva-
tion units for sustainable use.
Economics of expanding soy
Legal issues around land tenure onto open pasture
Conflicts over land are as old as Brazil and have The effort to intensify pasture use across Brazil is
a fraught history in the country known for its a top priority for a number of conservation-ori-
Landless Workers Movement. In Matopiba today, ented organizations. Part of the appeal of this
there is a fresh fear of land expropriation from approach is that it opens up land for soy and other
large agribusiness operators looking to expand. crops. The International Institute for Sustainability
Many traditional communities and family farms and others have demonstrated positive eco-
have claims based on historical use but not formal nomic and herd health effects from intensification
land title. Because historical use can be difficult to practices,143 and tools such as Otimizagro can
prove and many rural populations do not have the simulate cropping patterns under different agri-
training or resources to defend their claims, they cultural land demand and deforestation policies in
can be vulnerable to expropriation by larger, bet- Brazil.144 However, little has been published on the
ter-resourced actors. Research into the rights and economics of expanding soy or other crops into
legal protections for the various traditional people degraded pastureland. Experts seem to disagree
and local communities to help clarify and codify about whether expanding soy onto degraded pas-
what kind of land expropriation is illegal, where tures is more or less expensive than opening new
the gray areas are, and what steps communities forest. A more robust assessment that identifies
need to take to protect themselves can help these where and under what conditions soy expansion
groups maintain access to their traditional lands onto degraded pastures can be profitable would
and ensure that they are not displaced. help the field understand how cattle intensifica-
tion may help to constrain the overall footprint of
agriculture.
141.Cartografia Social dos Babauais: Mapeamento 144.Otimizagro is a model being developed by the
Social da Regio Ecolgica do Babau, Projeto Nova Remote Sensing Laboratory at the Federal University
Cartografia Social da Amaznia, July 2015. of Minas Gerais. Using spatially explicit data about the
142.Natural Capital Accounting in Brazil, TEEB for productivity of cattle herds, the model can identify areas
Business Brazil, March 2014. with the largest opportunities for restoration.
143.Economic Analysis of a More Sustainable Livestock,
International Institute for Sustainability, May 2015;
Latawiec et al. (2014): 12551263.
CONCLUSION
The Cerrado is a vitally important region. It is Brazils breadbasket, with

more than 40 percent of the countrys agricultural land. It is home to a wealth
of indigenous and traditional communities and has some of the highest
densities of family farmers in Brazil. It is the most biodiverse tropical savanna
in the world and is a storehouse of vast amounts of carbon. It is the birthplace
of many of Brazils rivers and also has a significant, if inadequately understood,
role in the weather and water cycles that feed agriculture, hydropower
generation, and urban areas across Brazil. Support for development in the
Cerrado that can sustain and support these myriad assets and functions is
essential, not just for the Cerrados communities, but for the entire country.
It is a matter of national importance: Brazils food security, water security,
and biological and cultural heritage depend on a healthy Cerrado.
Agricultural expansion and related infrastruc- Realizing such an agenda will not be easy,
ture development in the Cerrado, left wholly particularly given the economic and political
unchecked, threaten the regions indigenous and challenges facing Brazil today. It will require critical
traditional communities and its ecosystem func- support and enhanced political will from the fed-
tions. Thus, it is essential to adopt a balanced eral, state, and municipal governments, the private
approach to development in the Cerrado, one sector, academics, international donors, and civil
that recognizes the value of varied approaches to society. Yet just as Brazil has pioneered the devel-
agricultural production, protection of biodiversity opment of agriculture in tropical savannas for the
and landscapes, and social inclusion of small-scale rest of the world, it now has the opportunity to
farmers and indigenous and traditional communi- be perhaps the first major agricultural economy
ties. This paper outlines five approaches that, to develop in a manner that truly integrates social,
if taken together, could prove successful in achiev- cultural, environmental, economic, and
ing these multiple goals. climate agendas.
Additional resources are available online:
www.climateandlandusealliance.org/reports/cerrado/

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CHALLENG ES AND OPPORTUNITIES

FOR CONSERVATION, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION,

About this report 2

This document outlines a set of opportunities that can contribute to

Suggested Citation: Credits:

agricultural frontiers in Brazil.2 This landscape is

Geographic focus of these recommendations

Photo: Peter Caton/ISPN

INTERVENTION STRATEGY SUBSTRATEGY

1. Strong Timely, equitable, Support smallholders and indigenous and traditional

INTERVENTION STRATEGY SUBSTRATEGY

The Cerrado is a tropical, woody savanna located in the geographic heart

25.Ibid.. 28.Food and Agriculture Organization of the

31.Beuchle et al., 2015. 34.Embrapa Strategic Intelligence Group (GITE),

We have identified a set of five potential opportunities to advance an

1.Strong implementation of the Forest Code

Permanent Protection (APP), foreclosing their

within the restoration agenda. Brazil has pledged

54.Soares-Filho et al., 2014. 57.Joseph W. Veldman et al., Tyranny of Trees in Grassy

MAP 3: BRAZILS CERRADO, DEFORESTATION

Photo: Peter Caton/ISPN

76.Alfredo Wagner Berno de Almeida and Mason Mathews,

Protected Lands In The Cerrado 90

Cerrado lands in the National System of Nature Conservation Units (SNUC)

Other protected lands

86.MMA, Unidas de Conservacao por Bioma, 89.Ibid.

108.Rajo and Soares-Filho,

109.Belinky, 2014. 114.Strassburg et al., 2014.

121.MAPA, Plano Setorial de Mitigao e de Adaptao s 122.Ibid.

Photo: Bento Viana/ISPN

124.Note: pesticides include herbicides, insecticides, and 129.Ibid.

Photo: Bento Viana/ISPN

Gaps in knowledge about the Cerrado, including lack of information about

139.Ibid. 140.Izabela Prates, Bioma Cerrado Contar com

The Cerrado is a vitally important region. It is Brazils breadbasket, with

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