Expanding the Soy Moratorium to Brazil’s Cerrado

Expanding the Soy Moratorium (SoyM) to Brazil's Cerrado biome could prevent the conversion of 3.6 million hectares of native vegetation to soy cultivation by 2050, equivalent to a 2% reduction in national soybean area. This quantitative analysis highlights the potential for such an agreement to mitigate biodiversity loss and ecosystem service degradation in this critical global hotspot. The study identifies key drivers of future conversion risks, including Brazil's domestic market, China, and the European Union, emphasizing the urgency for zero native vegetation conversion policies like the SoyM.

Soterroni, A. C., Ramos, F. M., Mosnier, A., Fargione, J., Andrade, P. R., Baumgarten, L., Pirker, J., Obersteiner, M., Kraxner, F., Câmara, G., Carvalho, A. X. Y., & Polasky, S. (2019). Expanding the Soy Moratorium to Brazil’s Cerrado. Science Advances, 5(7). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav7336