Deep Dive
LAPIG's Three Decades Monitoring a Biome in Crisis
The Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Geoprocessing at the Federal University of Goiás opened a public hearing before Goiás's environmental commission to present satellite data spanning 2019-2026. LAPIG, operating since roughly 1994 under founder Professor Laert Guimarães Ferreira, pioneered Cerrado monitoring when the Amazon dominated environmental attention. The team, including Professor Elane Barbosa and student interns like Víctor Guimarães and Carolina Ribeiro, coordinates with MAP Biomas—a 2015-founded collaborative network (not an NGO) that aggregates deforestation data across Brazil's biomes alongside Brazil's Ministry of Environment and INPE. Deputy Antônio Gomid convened the hearing to address a core problem: fires and deforestation strike predictably the same locations and months each year, yet lack adequate prevention policies. The timing was urgent—fires had swept through Guarani and the Bahia border region just 15 days prior, affecting even supposedly protected legal reserves.
The Illegal Deforestation Tsunami: 232,000 Hectares Without Permission
Barbosa presented the raw numbers: Goiás shed 272,000 hectares across nearly 12,000 deforestation polygons from 2019-2026. Only 40,000 hectares were legally authorized. That means 232,000 hectares—85%—was razed illegally. In 2025 alone, 12,000 hectares vanished across 501 deforestation sites. The worst hit municipalities cluster in the northeast: Niquelândia, Minaçu, Flores de Goiás, Crxás, and Caiapônia leading the destruction. Specific incidents illustrate the scale: nearly 10,000 hectares stripped in Piauí's Rio Ribeiro region (equivalent to 13,000 football fields), over 1,000 hectares in Cavalcante despite its protected status, and 931 hectares in Alvorada do Norte. Critically, most deforestation hit legal reserves and protected areas—revealing inspection capacity hasn't matched authorization frameworks. While inspector numbers grew in recent years, they haven't translated into proportional enforcement effectiveness. The western Bahia agricultural frontier acts as a spillover engine, pushing mechanized agriculture pressure into adjacent Goiás terrain.
The Trend Reversal: Amazon Down, Cerrado Burning
National data exposed an alarming pivot in 2023. Two years prior, the Amazon dominated deforestation alerts with roughly 140,000 incidents versus the Cerrado's 71,000. Then the pattern inverted: Amazon alerts plummeted by more than half, while Cerrado deforestation spiked drastically. By 2024-2025, the Amazon achieved a 43% decrease, but the Cerrado managed only 1.2%—a 42-point spread signaling where pressure now concentrates. Fire patterns compound the crisis. The Cerrado saw a 20% decrease in fires from 2019-2026 compared to historical averages, yet 2025 burned 551,384 hectares across Goiás, with September 2026 showing a chilling 24% increase year-over-year. Fires cluster July-October, preceding agricultural planting season, suggesting deliberate land clearing rather than natural occurrence. Forest formations absorb most damage, followed by savanic formations. A quarter of burned areas show intense to very intense fire severity, preventing natural recovery and decimating fauna and flora. Municipally, Cavalcante, Niquelândia, and Montalegre bore the heaviest scars.
Two Goiás: North Preserved, South Erased
Satellite data spanning 1985-2025 via Landsat reveals a state fractured into two. Northern and northeastern regions—Mambaí, Cavalcante, Alto Paraíso—retain significant vegetation patches. Southern and southeastern municipalities have been systematically dismantled. São Patrício, SES, Itaguaçu, and Adelândia now sport only 4-13% vegetation cover, placing them in environmental intensive care. The Cerrado has been practically entirely fragmented. Forest formations experienced the greatest reduction across Goiás over four decades, driven by commodity agriculture—especially soybeans for export markets—expanding dramatically since the 1970s-80s. By 1985, southern and southeastern regions already showed substantial agricultural occupation, and decades of expansion completed the devastation. Goiás holds only 13 state parks and 2 national parks (Chapada dos Viadeiros and Emas) totaling under 0.4% of state territory—woefully insufficient protection. Yet the data reveals Goiás as a water cradle with multiple watershed basins, making vegetation loss a threat to water security alongside biodiversity.
The Unutilized Land Paradox: 70% of Cleared Area Wasted
A researcher presented Mapomás/LAPIG pasture vigor data that reframed the entire deforestation debate. Approximately 40% of Goiás's existing pasture carries low vigor, meaning degraded grasslands support just 1 head of cattle per hectare instead of the potential 3. More striking: less than 30% of already-deforested land is actively used for pasture or agriculture. Seventy percent sits underutilized. This means production could jump more than 50% without clearing a single additional hectare of pristine Cerrado. The implication was stark: there is no necessity for further deforestation. Yet legally authorized clearing (71.3% nationally between 2019-2025) continues eroding biodiversity despite this capacity for intensification. A deputy emphasized that consciousness and mentality must shift regarding development assumptions and property rights. Science has already proven expansion is unnecessary; political will to stop clearing and optimize existing farmland is the missing element.
Science Reaching Society: Students Demand Action Beyond Academia
The hearing's final segment featured LAPIG interns and UFG environmental sciences students—many visiting the Legislative Assembly for the first time—demanding their research transform into policy. Carolina Ribeiro raised a terminology issue: 'deforestation' misframes Cerrado destruction because it's a savanna, not forest. 'Vegetation suppression' better captures the ecological reality. Ana Júlia connected degradation to lived experience, noting temperatures reached 39°C, asking what future awaited when nights felt identical to days. Eric Soares warned the world has never endured such drastic environmental alteration in so little time. Multiple speakers stressed environmental, climate, and social crises are already happening, not distant scenarios. Professor Elane closed by insisting university research has no relevance if confined to campus—it must reach society through legislative platforms and electoral debates. She called on young researchers to engage politicians directly, ensuring decision-makers commit to science-based governance. The Assembly, she argued, functions as a resonance chamber where academic findings meet political action. Without this symbiosis, knowledge remains inert.