NGOs ask to include Brazilian Cerrado in the EUDR at next review

As it stands, about 74% of the Brazilian Cerrado falls outside the scope of the EU’s anti-deforestation regulation (EUDR), legislation to protect forests worldwide. To avoid greater pressure on these lands and the communities that inhabit them, Indigenous leaders and NGOs are calling on EU authorities to review and expand the regulation at its one-year review period. The EUDR, set to prevent products linked to deforestation from entering the EU starting Jan. 1, 2024, applies to any geographic area where palm oil, cattle, coffee, cocoa, soy, wood and rubber are produced. However, for it to be considered deforested land, it has to fall under the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) definition of “forest,” which excludes certain savannas and grasslands. Unless illegalities are found according to national and international laws (including conservation laws), commodities produced in areas not covered by the EUDR will be able to enter the EU. This includes most of the Cerrado, an ecosystem that is known as the “cradle of waters” because of its vital role in replenishing the main Brazilian and South American watersheds, as well as providing energy and food security for millions of people. It is Brazil’s second-largest biome, covering more than 20% of the country’s territory — an area the size of Mexico — and is the world’s most biodiverse savanna. The rapid expansion of agribusiness in Brazil is directly linked to the destruction of forests in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes. Image © Christian Braga / Greenpeace. If it is not…This article was originally published on Mongabay