Covered with stunted trees, palm-studded grassland, and gallery fores?s, up to 70 percent of the Western-Europe-sized savanna or cerrado has already been leveled, according to environmental group Conservation International (CI).
“There is a lack of planning to promote controlled settlement of the cerrado,” said Ricardo Machado, director of the conservation group in Brazil.
The ancient savanna wilderness resembles the safari lands of Africa and is known for species like the maned wolf and rare jaguars. It is the world’s most biodiverse savanna and home to around 5 percent of the world’s animal and plant species.
The cerrado is also considered the only continuous agricultural area in the world that can be expanded to meet growing global food demands. Farm exports are helping drive Brazil’s current economic recovery.
The savanna is disappearing at a faster rate than Brazil’s Amazon and Atlantic rain forests. It is cleared for crops like soy, corn, and cotton; settlements grow; and reservoirs are created to create hydroelectric dams to supply energy, Conservation International said.
Around 1.5 percent or 7,722 square miles are being cleared annually, according to the study that used satellite images from 2002.
The study comes ahead of a meeting this week between environmental groups and government officials in Alto Paraiso, near the capital Brasilia to discuss the future of the cerrado.
Environmentalists recognize the savanna’s economic importance but want to protect animal and plant species that have yet to be studied and could provide medical cures.
The savanna is also a vital source of water for agricultural production, human consumption, and production of electric energy. Without adequate control, its rivers, lakes, and reservoirs could silt up, environmentalists say.
Brazil’s government wants to create sustainable use of the savanna through controlled development around roads, rivers, and railroads. The government is also trying to encourage efficient use of existing cleared areas.