Doesn’t Brazil’s economy depend on deforestation?
No. An estimated 77% of deforested areas become cattle pasture, which produces very little for Brazil’s national economy. Most of Brazil’s beef herd is in former Atlantic forest and cerrado (central-Brazilian savanna) areas outside of the Amazon. A small fraction of the deforested area becomes soybeans, which is an important crop for the economy. However, most of Brazil’s soybeans are produced in cerrado areas rather than Amazon forest.
