STORY-TRÅD·politik

Desertification in Brazil threatens food and water security

Approximately 39 million Brazilians live in areas threatened by desertification. They include farmers, indigenous peoples, and those living in the Pantanal, Caatinga, and Pampa biomes. The term may seem strange, since the country does not have deserts like Chile’s Atacama or North Africa’s Sahara - places where the dry climate and water scarcity are extreme. Notícias relacionadas:Brazil to join COP17 debates on desertification in Mongolia.Most Brazilian biomes saw lower deforestation in 2024.Brazil’s cerrado biome may store more carbon than the Amazon.Desertification, however, is a broader term that refers to the process of environmental degradation in which once-productive land loses its ability to retain water and sustain life. This occurs mainly due to human activities, such as deforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices, as well as climate variations. The more advanced the process, the greater the risk that a region will become desertified. About 18 percent of Brazil’s territory consists of Areas Susceptible to Desertification (ASD), according to the most recent bulletin from the Superintendence for the Development of the Northeast (SUDENE). Representatives of civil society and Brazilian government agencies are discussing challenges and solutions at the 17th United Nations Conference on Combating Desertification (COP17) in Mongolia, which runs from August 17 to 28. Ivi Aliana, executive coordinator of the Brazilian Semi-Arid Network (ASA), points out that the problem primarily affects vulnerable populations and traditional communities. “They are the first to feel the effects because they deal directly with the impacts on water and biodiversity in their territories,” says Aliana. She emphasizes, however, that land degradation is not a problem exclusive to those who live on the land. “It may seem like a distant problem to some, but desertification affects food production, water security, and the economy, and contributes to rising temperatures. “All of this extends beyond degraded areas. It affects both rural areas and cities across Brazil,” she explains. The Pantanal is among Brazil’s biomes with areas threatened by desertification due to an increase in wildfires and the expansion of cattle ranching - Palê Zuppani/ICMbio National data Between 2000 and 2020, the area affected by desertification in Brazil increased from 1.35 million to 1.51 million km², a rise of 170,000 km². The phenomenon primarily affects the nine states of the Northeast, but also extends to northern Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, northeastern Rio de Janeiro, and northwestern Mato Grosso do Sul. These areas have three types of climate: dry subhumid, semiarid, and arid. They are classified according to rainfall and water evaporation rates using the aridity index. The dry subhumid climate has an aridity index between 0.50 and 0.65; the semiarid climate, between 0.2 and 0.5; and the arid climate, between 0.05 and 0.2. When the index falls below 0.05, the climate is considered desert-like - the hyperarid climate—which does not yet exist in Brazil. Caatinga Of Brazil’s six biomes, the Caatinga has the most severe levels of soil degradation: 11 percent is in critical or severe condition, equivalent to 100,000 km². Approximately 42.6 percent of its native vegetation has already been cleared. Protecting the Caatinga is essential for biodiversity, the people who live there, and the climate, explains Aldrin Martin Pérez-Marín, a researcher at the National Institute of the Semi-Arid Region (INSA), who also coordinates the Caatinga and Desertification Observatory (OCA). The biome is continuously monitored by the OCA in partnership with more than 30 universities and institutions in the Northeast. A joint study found that the Caatinga sequesters carbon with 58 percent efficiency - higher than any other Brazilian biome. This contribution is crucial in the fight against global warming, as excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere traps heat and intensifies the greenhouse effect. “The most surprising thing lies beneath the ground: 72 percent of all that carbon is stored in the soil - about 125 metric tons per hectare - which makes it not only an active carbon sink but also a massive, long-term natural reservoir. It is this resilience that explains its pivotal role: it knows how to sustain life and balance the climate even in the most arid environments,” says Pérez-Marín. A study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment in 2025 confirmed this pivotal role. In 2022 alone, the Caatinga accounted for about 50 percent of Brazil’s total net carbon sequestration, offsetting a significant portion of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. The INSA researcher warns that Brazil must advocate for the Caatinga to be explicitly mentioned in the scientific text to be negotiated at COP17. If this does not happen, the tropical semi-arid region would remain off the Convention’s official scientific radar until 2030. “The Caatinga is not the problem. It is part of the solution - for Brazil and for the planet. In the face of the climate crisis, the choice is for living territories: people standing tall, the Caatinga standing tall, and a future standing tall,” says Pérez-Marín. The Caatinga is Brazil’s main biome threatened by desertification - ASA Public policies Brazil became a signatory to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in 1997, committing to measures to prevent and reverse the effects of land degradation. In March 2026, the Brazilian Action Plan to Combat Desertification and Mitigate the Effects of Drought (PAB-Brasil 2025–2043) was officially launched. The plan calls for addressing desertification through public policies that integrate environmental protection, education, health, social assistance, infrastructure, access to water, productive inclusion, and technological innovation. Another initiative, launched in June this year, was the Recaatingar Program. Biologist Alexandre Pires, director of the Department for Combating Desertification and Mitigating the Effects of Drought (DCDE) at the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, explains that the goal is to restore 10 million hectares of degraded land in the biome for productive use over the next 20 years. The focus is on promoting water security, socio-productive restoration, and climate change adaptation based on the traditional knowledge of local communities. “Recaatingar is a methodology that encompasses everything from the physical aspects of soil and agronomy to working with traditional communities, their way of life, and how they manage this biodiversity. We drew inspiration from these social technologies for living in the semiarid region to create the program,” explains Pires. “Restoring degraded soil is a strategic approach to ensuring livelihoods, jobs, and income, while also providing a service that helps humanity cope with climate disasters. We need to recognize the potential and resilience of these territories,” he adds. INSA researcher Aldrin Martin Pérez-Marín attests to the effectiveness of Caatinga restoration. He says that, even before the program began, this social technology had already resulted in 36,000 hectares under conservation, 2,000 hectares under active restoration, 15 agro-Caatinga systems, 31 management plans, and more than 280 swarms of native bees returned to the landscape. “Agroforestry management of the Caatinga can quadruple the supply of forage without destroying the biome. Agroforestry systems have increased biomass by around 85 percent and can retain up to 100 metric tons of soil per hectare each year, preventing erosion,” says Pérez-Marín. “Crop rotation and underground reservoirs return water, carbon, and fertility to the soil.” Prospects and solutions The Brazilian Semi-Arid Region Coalition (ASA), comprising more than 3,000 civil society organizations, has worked for more than 25 years to promote solutions and technologies that help communities affected by desertification. One of ASA’s key initiatives is the development of rainwater harvesting programs. Some of these programs focus on building cisterns and small dams to ensure that families have access to drinking water, as well as water for food production and livestock. Other initiatives focus on promoting seeds adapted to the Caatinga’s climate and agricultural techniques that respect the biome’s biodiversity. “It’s not a helicopter dropping seeds over an uninhabited area that will restore this region. Combating desertification depends on family farming, agroecology, and the people who live on and care for these lands,” says Ivi Aliana, ASA’s coordinator.