Brazil Biodiversity and Preservation
Located in Brazil, the Cerrado is a vast savanna encompassing over 2 million square kilometers. Known for its rich biodiversity, it houses thousands of unique plant species and wildlife, including endangered animals like the maned wolf and giant anteater. The Cerrado is crucial for maintaining regional water cycles and combating climate change, yet it faces severe threats from deforestation and agricultural expansion. This conservation project aims to protect this vital biome, preserving its unique ecosystem and supporting sustainable practices for the future.
Verra is a leading global standards organisation that develops and manages frameworks to measure, track, and certify various environmental and social impacts. Their flagship program, the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), is one of the world’s most widely used voluntary carbon market standards, ensuring that carbon credits represent real, additional, and permanent emission reductions.
Situated in the Cerrado, Brazil's second largest and incredibly diverse savannah region, the Cerrado Biome project is at the forefront of environmental conservation. This initiative focuses on safeguarding native forests and grasslands that are under threat from extensive commercial farming activities like soy, corn, and cattle ranching. Since 1985, the Cerrado has seen nearly half of its native vegetation replaced by agriculture. Managed by ERA Cerrado Assessoria e Projectos Ambientais Ltd, this project is part of a larger REDD+ grouped effort under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) managed by Verra, aiming to generate sustainable revenue through carbon credits.
Spanning approximately 11,000 hectares with plans for further expansion, the project's goal is to significantly increase its annual carbon credit output, aiming to produce an average of 0.5 million credits each year by 2030. These efforts provide local landholders an alternative to agricultural development, promoting environmental sustainability and economic opportunity.
Impact Highlights
Conserving Forests & Grasslands
The Cerrado, often described as an “inverted forest” due to its dense and deep root systems that store vast amounts of carbon, is rapidly losing ground to agricultural expansion. The project employs several conservation strategies such as fire prevention, education programs, water quality monitoring, and native seedling production to combat this loss.
Protecting Biodiversity
Home to unique wildlife including jaguars, tapirs, macaws, and maned wolves, many of which are endangered, the Cerrado Biome project plays a crucial role in maintaining the habitat these species need to survive. This effort helps stem the biodiversity loss in this unique ecosystem.
Improving Livelihoods
Beyond environmental protection, the project enhances local livelihoods by redirecting a portion of the revenue from carbon credits back into the community. This funding supports local environmental education, skills development in areas like fire management and agroforestry, and promotes safer working conditions and research initiatives.
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