Cattle Grazing

Credit: Rachel Kramer / NWF

In the past decade, deforestation has accounted for over 50% of Brazil’s annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, ranking it as the world’s third largest emitter of GHGs, after China and the US. Between the years 2000 and 2005, half of all tropical deforestation occurred in Brazil.

Cattle ranching in the Brazilian Amazon drives over three-quarters of forest clearing and is a source of other environmental and social concerns, including bonded labor 4 and land-grabbing. Recent success in reducing deforestation for cattle expansion is greatly improving the chances for Amazon forest conservation and reduction of GHG emissions.

Read the full report here: NWFAmazonCattleUpdate