Anna Júlia Lopes*
The 2025 edition of TransCerrado came to an end last Sunday (10). The initiative, which combines cycling and research to investigate the socio-environmental impacts on the biome, covered around 500 km this year. According to Paulo Moutinho, senior researcher and co-founder of IPAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute), the landscape was – for the most part – deforested, while the people heard along the way showed concern about the future of the region.
“This year’s edition of TransCerrado traversed a vast landscape deforested for cattle ranching, around 1 million hectares cleared. Against this backdrop of few trees and dry rivers, we heard people talk about a past of abundant rain and mild temperatures. Many people are worried about the future of the biome and the climate,” said Moutinho.
In the 6th edition of TransCerrado, the researchers traveled by bicycle through the Chapada dos Veadeiros region, from Alto Paraíso to Teresina de Goiás. For the participants, dialog with the local population was one of the main objectives of the expedition. Some of the topics covered were climate change in the Cerrado and the reduction of water in the region due to deforestation of the biome.
In addition to the lack of rainfall in the region, the reduction in water availability also occurs as a result of deforestation, since almost half of the biome has been cleared and what remains suffers from fires, such as the one that hit the Brasília National Forest in 2024.
Valderli Piontekowski, one of the participating cyclists and the institute’s Technological Innovation coordinator, said that the expedition had already been observing the reduction in the volume of water in rivers and springs. Another point noted by Piontekowski is the fragmentation of the Cerrado, with the advance of deforestation and monoculture.
“Some [residents] report difficulties in controlling pests, managing livestock in longer droughts and adapting to hotter seasons,” said the coordinator, who adds that the bicycle imposes a slower but more attentive pace on the expedition. For him, the format of the expedition brings people together, generating opportunities for conversations and connecting with the territory. The full interview with Piontekowski will be published in the August 25 edition of Um Grau e Meio, IPAM’s climate change newsletter.
Created in 2019, TransCerrado was born with the aim of encouraging outdoor sports and cycle tourism. On the eve of COP30 (30th United Nations Climate Change Conference), the 2025 edition highlighted the importance of protecting the Cerrado, the second largest biome in Brazil and South America, in a context of feedback between extreme weather and land use.
*IPAM journalist, anna.rodrigues@ipam.org.br