Quilombola territories stand out as least deforested areas in Brazil

In Brazil, quilombola territories stand out as some of the least deforested areas in the country, as revealed by a recent survey conducted by MapBiomas, a project dedicated to monitoring land cover and land use. Between 1985 and 2022, these territories experienced a deforestation rate of 4.7 percent equivalent to 240,000 hectares, in stark contrast to private areas, which recorded a significantly higher percentage of 25 percent.

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Quilombola territories granted titles or in the process account for 3.8 million hectares, a mere 0.5 percent of the national territory. MapBiomas reveals a notable disparity in native vegetation loss between titled and pending territories. During the survey period, the former experienced a 3.2 percent loss compared to 5.5 percent in the latter category.

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The native vegetation of quilombola territories is mainly concentrated in three of Brazil’s six biomes: the Amazon (73%), the Cerrado (12%), and the Caatinga (10%). Over the period from 1985 to 2022, Caatinga quilombola territories experienced the highest loss of native vegetation (72,600 hectares), followed by the Amazon (58,400 hectares), and the Cerrado (36,700 hectares). In contrast, there was a gain of 7,800 hectares in the Atlantic Forest.

The Amazon boasts the highest number of quilombola territories (181), followed by the Atlantic Forest (136), Caatinga (94), Cerrado (63), and Pampa (20). In terms of land area, the Amazon leads with 2.5 million hectares, surpassing the Caatinga (550,000 hectares), and the Cerrado (500,000 hectares). The Atlantic Forest and the Pampa cover 278,000 and 6,500 hectares, respectively.