Mato Grosso do Sul emits 75 million tons of gases into the atmosphere every year. To help neutralize this pollution, measures are being studied and implemented. One of them is to leverage the natural resources of the Pantanal to offset toxic emissions.
The Instituto Homem Pantaneiro, a non-profit social organization working for the preservation of the biome, conducted a groundbreaking survey and identified 1.2 million hectares in the Pantanal with potential for carbon projects.
Biologist Milton Longo, from the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, explains how vegetation captures carbon.
“Trees are the largest natural carbon sequestrators we have. They use CO2 from the atmosphere in their photosynthesis process through the stomata of the leaves, absorb it, and this is transformed into mass, into material for growth. It goes into their trunks, branches, and even leaves. So, they manage to remove this CO2 from the atmosphere through their physiological processes of photosynthesis and transform their growth processes into stored carbon. Therefore, planting trees, restoring degraded areas with tree planting, in addition to solving erosion problems and environmental issues, also contributes to increasing carbon sequestration from the atmosphere, reducing these levels of greenhouse gases,” he said.
Carbon credits are traded, which guarantees extra income and the possibility for producers to profit from preserving areas.
“In 2023, the IHP obtained the first carbon credit certification in the Pantanal after a lot of effort in initiatives for territorial conservation. This nature-based solution represents a real opportunity for landowners in the Pantanal to be compensated for the work already being done for sustainable use. Mato Grosso do Sul has a plan set to become a Carbon Neutral State by 2030 and is already a reference in sustainability. This study aims to ensure and optimize efforts,” said the president of IHP, Ângelo Rabelo.
A gain for the environment as well.
In the Report on Opportunities and Potential for Carbon Credits for Rural Landowners in the Pantanal, 1,203,050.23 hectares were identified with carbon stocks ranging from 75 to 100 tC/ha (tons of carbon per hectare) and 100 to 121.92 tC/ha.
The survey was conducted using data on carbon above the soil, and the maps were developed using platforms from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
The analysis was done in the 11 sub-regions of the Pantanal. The studies were focused on REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and ARR (Forest Leasing and Restoration) projects. Legally protected areas, as well as areas overlapping with other carbon credit initiatives, Indigenous Peoples and Traditional Communities areas, settlement areas, and public lands (registered in the Land Management System and the National Rural Environmental Registry System) were excluded from the survey to comply with legal requirements.
Mato Grosso do Sul aims to become a carbon-free state by 2030.
To achieve this, it needs to balance pollutant emissions in the atmosphere with compensation methods, not generating impacts on global warming.
Fossil fuels, such as gasoline and diesel from vehicles, coal burning in industries, and even livestock farming, with methane released during cattle digestion, are sources of pollution.
According to government data, livestock farming in the state reduced pollution emissions by 51% between 2006 and 2022. Even so, it is still considered one of the most polluting activities.