Brazil Creates New Sustainable Development Reserve in Minas Gerais
Why this is here: The new reserve will protect crucial water sources in the Cerrado region, which are under pressure from expanding eucalyptus plantations and mining operations.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a decree creating the Córregos dos Vales do Norte de Minas Sustainable Development Reserve in the Cerrado region. The new reserve spans 40,834 hectares across the municipalities of Riacho dos Machados, Rio Pardo de Minas, and Serranópolis de Minas.
The reserve aims to conserve water sources threatened by eucalyptus monoculture and mining. It will also protect areas used for extractive practices and ensure access for traditional “geraizeiro” populations.
The federal government will invest R$ 781,000 in the initiative. The reserve will connect to the Serra Nova and Grão Mogol State Parks, forming an important conservation mosaic within the Cerrado biome. The signing occurred during a leaders’ meeting ahead of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species.