{"id":397565,"date":"2025-10-23T10:36:57","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T13:36:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=397565"},"modified":"2025-10-24T18:23:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T21:23:05","slug":"brazils-ag-to-showcase-preservation-at-cop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/brazils-ag-to-showcase-preservation-at-cop\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil\u2019s ag to showcase preservation at COP"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Bel\u00e9m \u2013 Brazil\u2019s agribusiness sector views the U.N.\u2019s COP30 climate summit, to be held in November in Bel\u00e9m, Par\u00e1 state, as an opportunity to show other countries how the sector handles environmental preservation. The fact that Brazil is hosting the COP is expected to draw attention to the country\u2019s agricultural activity. \u201cIt\u2019s a discussion that has come close to us, and we have nothing to hide,\u201d says Nelson Ananias Filho, Sustainability Coordinator at Brazil\u2019s agribusiness lobby CNA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The self-portrait drawn by Brazil\u2019s agribusiness is far from the one depicted by European critics, who claim that Brazil clears forests to produce. The sector believes it operates under one of the most stringent environmental laws in the world, considering it is a tropical nation whose development and economy are grounded in agriculture. \u201cIt\u2019s very important to show that this does exist and that it\u2019s being followed,\u201d said Ananias, referring to Brazil\u2019s Forest Code.<\/p>\n\n\n
\nBel\u00e9m prepares to host the UN climate summit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\u201cThe COP came to Brazil to give us the opportunity to show what really happens here\u2014to draw attention to the fact that, here in Brazil, especially in this forest region, there’s a population that lives harmoniously within the forest, with production chains that reconcile production and preservation. This needs to be shown to the world,\u201d Ananias told ANBA, speaking in Par\u00e1, a state located in the Amazon forest region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The CNA reports that Brazilian law currently requires rural properties located in the Amazon biome to allocate 80% of their land to legal reserves (with native vegetation, without production), a percentage that is 35% in the Cerrado and 20% in the country\u2019s other biomes. In addition, permanent preservation areas on the property\u2014such as springs and hilltops, among other types of terrain\u2014must remain untouched. These percentages were established in the 2012 Forest Code, with some differentiation for those who were already farming the area before July 22, 2008, when Brazil first mapped its native vegetation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to data released by the CNA, 66.3% of Brazil\u2019s territory is made up of areas for the preservation and protection of native vegetation, which includes the preservation areas of rural properties. Cities and infrastructure occupy 3.5%, and agribusiness uses 30.2% of the total. \u201cSixty-six percent of Brazil\u2019s native vegetation is still standing, and 33.2%, that is, half of this remaining native vegetation, is within private properties in Brazil,\u201d says Ananias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brazilian farmers will be directly involved in the discussions that the Brazilian government will have at the COP. \u201cThe main NDC target proposal, to achieve a 59% to 67% reduction, is based on the agribusiness sector, on the recovery of degraded areas,\u201d explains Ananias, referring to Brazil\u2019s commitment to lower its emissions to the percentages above by 2035, using 2005 levels as a baseline. The U.N. refers to countries\u2019 climate targets as \u201cnationally determined contributions.\u201d One of Brazil\u2019s main strategies to meet its target will be the recovery of degraded areas, especially pastures. \u201cWe\u2019re the ones who will make it happen,\u201d says Ananias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the field<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This type of action\u2014the recovery of degraded pasture areas\u2014has already been adopted by Brazilian agriculture. At the Cooperativa Agr\u00edcola Mista de Tom\u00e9-A\u00e7u (CAMTA), located in the city of Tom\u00e9-A\u00e7u, Par\u00e1 state, some cooperative members have converted 18 hectares of degraded pasture into an agroforestry system, which combines trees and other productive plants, especially oil palm. The goal is to reach 2,000 hectares, according to the cooperative\u2019s technical coordinator, Pedro Silva.<\/p>\n\n\n
\nRicardo Arioli Silva in conversation with a foreign journalist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Brazilian farmers also consider increased land and crop productivity as an environmental gain, as it has allowed them to produce more food without opening new areas. For a group of foreign journalists on a press trip to the state of Par\u00e1 invited by the CNA in a pre-COP initiative, the confederation\u2019s consultant and Brazilian farmer Ricardo Arioli Silva shared his own and his family\u2019s experience in agriculture as an example of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Originally from Rio Grande do Sul, Arioli settled in Mato Grosso in the 1990s to farm. The initial goal was to plant only soy, but a few years later, based on the experience of other farmers, the family began growing corn in the off-season. More recently, they adopted planting Brachiaria pasture alongside the corn, turning the crop area into grazing land for cattle after the corn harvest. In other words, land that initially produced only soy has become a source of two additional food products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
COP30 will take place from November 10 to 21, with the heads of state meeting scheduled for November 6 and 7. During the event, Bel\u00e9m will host international delegations and country leaders. A preparatory ministerial meeting was held in Bras\u00edlia on October 13 and 14. The CNA will have two spaces at the Bel\u00e9m conference, one in the Blue Zone and another in the AgriZone, with the recovery of degraded pastureland from livestock farming and other sustainable initiatives on its agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*The journalist traveled at the invitation of the CNA<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Bel\u00e9m](\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/belem-1024x768.jpeg\")
![\"Ricardo](\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ricardo-foto-Wenderson-Araujo-Trilux-1024x683.jpg\")