BRAZIL
BIOSPHERE RESERVE OF CERRADO.
Year of creation
1994
The Brazilian Cerrado is considered to be the most biodiverse savannah in the world and is known as the "cradle of waters", as it is where the three largest hydrographic basins in South America are born: the Amazon-Tocantins, São Francisco and Prata; resulting in a high aquifer potential that favours biodiversity.
This biome is the second largest in South America, encompassing approximately 22% of Brazilian territory and is one of the world's main biodiversity hotspots. The BRC has an extraordinary abundance of endemic species but unfortunately suffers from exceptional habitat loss. This biome is home to roughly a third of Brazil's plants, including several endemic species with great economic potential, which can be used in medicine and biochemistry.
According to estimates, there are more than 11,600 native plant species already catalogued and more than 800 species of birds, in addition to a great variety of fish, reptiles and amphibians, all with high rates of endemism.
There are several traditional communities inhabiting the Cerrado, such as quilombolas, indigenous people, geraizeiros, among others, who have extensive knowledge of the territory, its resources, its fauna and flora and who, for centuries, have conserved and managed its outstanding biological wealth and landscape.
Despite its enormous biodiversity, over half of Cerrado's area is heavily deteriorated, being Brazil's most threatened biome due to constant pressure from large-scale agriculture and livestock expansion. Given that most of Brazil's food production comes from this region, it is important to reinforce instruments such as the BRC in order to increase holistically Cerrado’s economic and cultural potential.
Contacts
+55 31 98760-7921
institutoespinhaco@institutoespinhaco.org.br
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