Future Prospects

Because the Cerrado is so heavily impacted by agricultural activities and urbanization, it is unlikely that the ecosystem can be maintained. The biodiversity within the Cerrado is rapidly being damaged as a result of current human impact.  Without government intervention, it appears as though it will only get worse.

According to a study by Wendy Jepson, “estimates of Cerrado vegetation loss speculate that modern agro-pastoral expansion has converted up to 80% of the savanna and that the pace of change is increasing” (Jepson, 2013).  Based on this study, it appears that this ecosystem will disappear altogether unless there is an intervention of sorts in the current practices being carried out on the land.

The Current Divide Between Protected Cerrado Land and Farmland…
… soon, the area may be all farmland
(http://www.natgeocreative.com/ngs/photography/search/explore.jsf)

Although the Cerrado’s deforestation has been unnoticed for several decades, several organizations have begun to try and fix the problem through various methods. These same organizations have also been trying to get the Brazilian government involved in the problem with the Cerrado. Although only the slightest fraction of the land is protected by the government, this number is currently on the rise and hopefully in the future the government will protect a majority, if not all of the endangered land. Environmentalists and scientists have also suggested the cultivation of alternative crops that are able to better utilize the natural resources available in the Cerrado; this will hopefully minimize the negative human impact. Though unlikely, the preservation of the Cerrado is still feasible - a fact that the authorities should realize and work for (Wolford, 2008).