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Open letter: There are more than just trees and forests to be conserved and restored

Published Article

Brazil

Publication date: January 15, 2025

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Tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas are disappearing at alarming rates, with the Brazilian Cerrado alone losing more than one million hectares in 2023. These declines threaten biodiversity, cultural heritage, water security and vast belowground carbon stocks that rival forests. Because degraded open ecosystems rarely recover full function, immediate conservation—paired with policies to halt land conversion, support local livelihoods and reject harmful afforestation—is essential. Protecting remaining grasslands and savannas is critical for sustaining ecosystem services and ensuring meaningful progress under global restoration commitments.

Subject Tags

  • Carbon storage
  • Savanna
  • Grassland

Abstract

Tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas remain critically undervalued in global conservation policy, despite having lost nearly half of their historical extent. Recent trends underscore the urgency of action: in 2023 alone, the Brazilian Cerrado—the world’s most biodiverse savanna—lost more than one million hectares, a 67.7% increase in land conversion. These losses threaten irreplaceable biodiversity, cultural heritage, water security and major belowground carbon stocks that rival or exceed those of tropical forests. Because degraded open ecosystems rarely recover their original structure or function, conservation remains far more effective than restoration, which often cannot fully rebuild ecosystem complexity or resilience.

As scientists specializing in ecology, conservation and restoration, we call on policymakers at COP16 to recognize that the stability of the planet depends on safeguarding these ecosystems alongside forests. We urge immediate commitments to halt land conversion, strengthen management, align conservation with local livelihoods and reject afforestation practices that degrade open ecosystems. Protecting remaining grasslands and savannas is essential for maintaining biodiversity, sustaining ecosystem services and ensuring that restoration efforts under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration are meaningful. Conservation, grounded in scientific evidence and supported by robust policy, is our strongest defense against accelerating ecological loss.

Citation

Pilon, N., Peixoto, F., Oliveira, R. S., Oliveira, A. C. C., Alquéres, J., Alvarado, S., ... & Durigan, G. (2025). Open letter: There are more than just trees and forests to be conserved and restored. Plants, People, Planet, 7(5), 1220-1224. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10635

TNC Authors