World Heritage Identification Number: 1035
World Heritage since: 2001
Category: Natural Heritage
WHE Type: Protected Areas & National Parks
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇧🇷 Brazil
Continent: Americas
UNESCO World Region: Latin America and the Caribbean
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Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks
The Cerrado Protected Areas, consisting of Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks, are significant components of the Cerrado biome, a vast tropical savanna ecoregion located primarily in central Brazil. These protected areas were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001 due to their unique biodiversity and role as refuges for various plant and animal species throughout periods of climate change.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
The two sites included in the designation contain flora and fauna and key habitats that characterize the Cerrado – one of the world’s oldest and most diverse tropical ecosystems. For millennia, these sites have served as refuge for several species during periods of climate change and will be vital for maintaining the biodiversity of the Cerrado region during future climate fluctuations.
UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site
Criterion (ix): The current protected areas of the site played a key role for thousands of years in maintaining the biodiversity of the Cerrado ecoregion. Because of their central position and their altitudinal variation, they served as relatively stable refuges for species during climate changes that displaced the Cerrado along a north-south or east-west axis. This role of refuge for species continues. The climate marked by the two well-defined seasons (dry and wet), the recurrence of fires and the high concentration of aluminum, as well as the extremely acid and nutrient-deprived soil, have resulted in unique progressive adaptations in the flora and fauna.
Criterion (x): The site contains samples of all the key habitats that characterize the Cerrado ecoregion - one of the oldest tropical ecosystems of the Earth. It hosts more than 60% of all plant species and almost 80% of all vertebrate species observed in the Cerrado. All the endangered great mammals of the Cerrado are present, with the exception of the giant otter. In addition, the site is home to many rare small mammals and endemic birds of the Cerrado. Science continues to discover new species in this site.
Encyclopedia Record: Cerrado
The Cerrado is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in central Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraná and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the Brazilian highlands – the Planalto. The main habitat types of the Cerrado consist of forest savanna, wooded savanna, park savanna and gramineous-woody savanna. The Cerrado also includes savanna wetlands and gallery forests.Additional Site Details
Area: 381,430 hectares
Number of Components: 2
(x) — Contains most important habitats for biodiversity
Coordinates: -14.00569444 , -47.68461111
IUCN World Heritage Outlook
The 2025 Conservation Outlook on Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks reports the following assessment:
Source: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) · View assessment
Image
Pfly, Public domain
