A new study of land use in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso shows that deforestation rates decreased significantly from 2006 to 2010 even as agricultural production in the region reached an all-time high. The study found that growers in Mato Grosso, where more than a third of forest loss in the Brazilian Amazon occurred in the 1980s, have increasingly used previously cleared pasture land. Using satellite data and government statistics on deforestation and production, researchers from Columbia University calculated that 26 percent of the increase in soy production within Mato Grosso from 2001 to 2005 was the result of cropland expansion into forested areas, accounting for 10 percent of total deforestation; during the second half of the decade, however, soy expansion accounted for just 2 percent of total deforestation. According to the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, this shift coincided with a drop in commodity markets, as well as a series of high-profile policy initiatives to reduce deforestation and improved methods in monitoring illegal clearing, including satellite-based tracking systems.
Brazil Gains in Food Production Coincided With Drop in Deforestation
More From E360
-
INTERVIEW
To Fight Plastic Waste, an Indonesian Campaign Aims High
-
Biodiversity
How Mounting Demand for Rubber Is Driving Tropical Forest Loss
-
Climate
As Temperatures Rise, Dengue Fever Spreads and Cases Rise
-
OPINION
Clearing Skies: Opening a New Path on Climate and the Future
-
Food & Agriculture
After the Storm, Malawi’s Farmers Face a Precarious Future
-
Policy
Shifting Political Winds Threaten Progress on Europe’s Green Goals
-
OPINION
Uncounted Emissions: The Hidden Cost of Fossil Fuel Exports
-
Biodiversity
Can ‘Immortal’ Sequoias Survive the Ravages of Climate Change?
-
INTERVIEW
Ecosystems as Infrastructure: A New Way of Looking at Climate Resilience
-
ANALYSIS
As Climate Talks Near, Calls Mount for a ‘Phaseout’ of Fossil Fuels
-
OPINION
Without Warning: A Lack of Weather Stations Is Costing African Lives
-
Cities
As Bird Kills from Buildings Mount, Cities Look for Solutions