Source 4.bp.blogspot.comDIVERSITY OF OPINIONS (254)Study coordinated by INPE points out the risks of exploration of the CerradoFrom INPENational Institute of Space ResearchIn the article "Devaluing and Overexploiting the Brazilian Cerrado: On Our Own Risk", researchers discuss the importance of the biome to curb the threats associated with climate change and the human and economic development of the country and the region. Coordinated by the National Institute of Space Research (INPE), the study was recently published in Environment Magazine."New public policies are needed to promote and integrate this biome to the nation. In an international context, important efforts are being made to preserve the tropical forests of Brazil. Meanwhile, the destruction of the Cerrado, the country's oldest biome, is striding forward with little controversy, "says Myanna Lahsen of INPE's Earth System Science Center.According to the researcher, the existence of ecosystems and natural resources that are vital for the majority of Brazilians, as well as for the viability of agriculture, is under great threat.Lahsen, who signs the article with Mercedes Bustamante of the University of Brasilia (UnB), and Eloi Dalla-Nora, also from INPE, points out that the beauty and ecological importance of the cerrado are deeply devalued, although the biome is classified as one of the 35 biodiversity hotspots exist in the planet due to its exceptional concentration of endemic biodiversity and high levels of degradation due to economic exploitation.Natural ecosystems in the Cerrado are essential for the maintenance of the water reserves that supply Brazil. "The many ecosystem services provided by native Cerrado vegetation include the regulation of clean freshwater and climate for much of Brazil, including the Amazon and neighboring countries. In addition to stabilizing the regional climate, the enormous circulation of water flowing through the native vegetation of the Cerrado forms many of the important hydrographic basins of Brazil and contributes to the underground system of the Guarani aquifer. The Cerrado provides water for both the richest and the poorest regions of Brazil. It supplies about 70% of the water flowing north to the Araguaia-Tocantins basin, south-southeast to the Parana basin, and northeast to the Sao Francisco basin, feeding 8 of the 12 hydrographic regions of Brazil (Amazonas, Tocantins-Araguaia, Northeast of the Western Atlantic, Parnaiba, Sao Francisco Atlantico Leste, Parana, Paraguay), as well as atmospheric or underground water for other regions and countries. This means that the stability and functioning of the surrounding ecosystems in all these regions depend greatly on the biological integrity of the Cerrado. In addition, due to the fact that 80% of Brazil's electricity comes from hydroelectric plants in rivers that have their sources in the Cerrado, biome conservation is also fundamental for the country's energy security, "the authors write.The researchers also warn of the implementation of regular monitoring systems for the Cerrado and improvements in the management of those already established, as well as for the reduction of new deforestation and the restoration of degraded areas."It is necessary to comply with existing Brazilian environmental legislation and international commitments related to climate change, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. But the answer requires more than technical solutions. That