Feb 25 Brazil: an example of productivity and environmental protection

Brazil has everything it needs to prove that it is possible to be an agro-environmental powerhouse, capable of reconciling production and forest preservation. With the expansion of technology and advanced productivity tools, the country has developed a model of sustainable tropical agriculture, recognized worldwide for its excellence in the development of Low Carbon Agriculture (ABC) techniques.

On average, rural Brazil uses only half of the surface area of ​​its properties (50.1%). The area dedicated to the preservation of native vegetation on rural properties – registered and mapped in the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) – represents a quarter of the national territory (25.6%).

The recognition of this essential role of Brazilian agriculture in preserving the environment can be seen thanks to the geocoded processing of CAR data by Embrapa Territorial.

Areas dedicated to the preservation of native vegetation Based on CAR data, the territorial dimension of agriculture's contribution to environmental preservation was quantified. Brazilian rural producers (farmers, foresters, ranchers, extractivists, etc. registered with CAR) preserve a total of 218 million hectares within their rural properties.

Areas dedicated to the protection of native vegetation The areas dedicated to the preservation of native vegetation by Brazilian rural areas make up a relevant and large environmental mosaic with the country's protected areas: integral conservation units (national parks, ecological stations, etc.) and indigenous lands. The boundaries of integral conservation units are known in detail. They protect 10.4% of the national territory and represent less than half of the area dedicated to preservation by rural areas. The 600 indigenous lands occupy 13.8% of the country. The total protected areas (integral conservation units and indigenous lands) represent 206 million hectares and 24.2% of Brazil.

Areas dedicated to the protection and preservation of native vegetation Together, protected and preserved areas in rural areas total 423 million hectares or 49.8% of Brazil.

Total areas dedicated to native vegetation in Brazil When the protected and preserved areas are added to the native vegetation areas of public and military lands, and rural properties not yet registered or available in the CAR, the total reaches 632 million hectares. In other words, 66.3% of the national territory is designated and/or occupied by various forms of native vegetation, the nature and condition of which vary greatly among the different biomes.

Quantification of land use and occupation in Brazil

Thanks to the mapping of areas designated for the preservation of native vegetation registered in the CAR by the rural world and of protected areas in Brazil, it was possible to advance towards a comprehensive view of land use and occupation throughout the national territory. Based on satellite images and cartographic sources from various federal and state agencies, the Embrapa Territorial team completed the quantification of other forms of land use and occupation. This national summary is presented below in graphical format.

The graph above represents, in a synthetic and summarized way, the different proportions of the different uses and occupation of land in Brazil, highlighting the large size of the total areas dedicated to the preservation and protection of native vegetation (66.3%).

Sources:

Summary of Land Use and Occupation in Brazil. Embrapa, 01/20/2018. Available at: Summary of Land Use and Occupation in Brazil | Embrapa (embrapa.br). Accessed on 02/22/2021.

"We need to highlight Brazil as an agro-environmental powerhouse". Agência Safras, 11/04/2020. Available at: "We need to highlight Brazil as an agro-environmental powerhouse" | Canal Rural (canalrural.com.br). Accessed on 02/22/2021.

Brazil's agro-environmental potential is highlighted in a panel at COP 23. ILPF Low Carbon Agriculture, 11/15/2017. Available at: Brazil's agro-environmental potential is highlighted in a panel at COP 23 | Embrapa (embrapa.br). Accessed on 02/22/2021.