The Cerrado is one of the most spectacular and important wild places left on Earth, yet it’s largely unknown. A vast, forested savannah, it covers nearly a quarter of Brazil’s land area about the size of England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain combined.
This magnificent untamed landscape is home to an astonishing 12,070 native plant species, 251 mammal species, and over 800 fish and bird species – many of which are found nowhere else on Earth. It even boasts its own big five: the jaguar (the largest cat in the Americas), giant armadillo, tapir, giant anteater and the fascinating long-legged, fruit-eating, maned wolf.
These extraordinary animals live in harmony with indigenous and traditional communities, who are mainly small-scale subsistence farmers that grow beans, corn and other crops.
But unless we act now, it could be gone in less than a decade.
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UNIQUE, IMPORTANT, AND IRREPLACEABLE
The Cerrado is the victim of a serious global problem – large-scale agriculture, including vast soya bean farms. Soy is grown in huge amounts, primarily to feed the pigs and chickens we eat. Widespread deforestation and conversion of natural habitat to create soy fields has destroyed more than half of the Cerrado’s native vegetation already.
With vast expanses of rich soils and vegetation, the Cerrado stores 13.7 billion tonnes of carbon. This is vitally important for the fighting the climate crisis. If the Cerrado is lost, the whole world will feel the effects.
DISASTROUS FOR WILDLIFE
Half the Cerrado’s natural vegetation has gone already. And, with an area of the size of Greater London currently being destroyed every two months, the outlook is bleak for its wildlife and its people.
With each square kilometre of savannah that is burned, cleared and felled for soy production the Cerrado becomes smaller and more fragmented. There’s less space for wildlife to roam and find food, water or a mate, which in turn means less chance of survival.
HALTING THE LOSS
Right now we’re working on the frontline to protect the Cerrado’s remaining habitat. A vast 40 million hectares of previously cleared and now depleted land exists that could be used for growing soy. By restoring and re-using the depleted land, Brazil can meet the projected global demand for soy for the next 50 years without any further deforestation.
You can help ensure that millions of hectares of depleted pasture are rehabilitated for sustainable soy production. Your gift can help us stop any further conversion of natural vegetation for large-scale agriculture.
WE MUST ACT NOW
There’s never been a more critical time for the spectacular and vitally important Cerrado. Its very existence, and the future of its wildlife, people and natural resources depend on what happens in the next few years. That’s why we urgently need your support.
By sending your gift today we can safeguard jaguars, maned wolves, giant anteaters and all the other incredible wildlife of the Cerrado. We can ensure that indigenous communities go on living sustainably and in harmony with the natural environment they care so much about. And we can protect this precious, life-giving and globally important region for generations to come.
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