25By Sara Leal*
Forestry Engineer and Technological Innovation Coordinator at IPAM, he works in the areas of Geoprocessing and Remote Sensing as a specialist programmer for the production of maps related to human intervention in land cover.
He talks to Um Grau e Meio about the challenges and discoveries of the expedition. Sign up to receive IPAM’s newsletter free of charge in your e-mail.
How did your story with TransCerrado begin?
My story with TransCerrado began in 2021. Since then, I’ve taken part in every edition (2022, 2023 and 2024). Each year, the project addresses a central theme related to the challenges facing the Cerrado.
In addition to my involvement with socio-environmental issues, one point that made it easier for me to join the project was the fact that I had been cycling regularly since 2019.
Cycling has become an important part of my life, and combining this passion with TransCerrado’s purpose made everything make even more sense. Cycling through the Cerrado, researching, observing and talking to people, became a way of better understanding this territory.
During your participation in TransCerrado, did you notice any trends through remote sensing? If so, which ones?
Yes, over the years we have observed worrying trends that remote sensing data had already been signaling. One of them is the reduction in the volume of water in rivers and springs, which can be seen by the decrease in vegetation cover in the images.
We also noticed the fragmentation of the Cerrado, with the advance of deforestation and monoculture. This data guides our itineraries and our conversations in the field, helping us to see where the impacts are strongest.
Is it possible to see the effects of climate change identified by satellites in the field?
It’s one thing to see a graph or a pixel in an image indicating a trend; it’s quite another to be in the field and see it with your own eyes.
Seeing a dry spring, feeling the extreme heat or hearing from farmers that it has become increasingly challenging to deal with the wet and dry periods for planting. Some report difficulties in controlling pests, managing livestock in longer droughts and adapting to hotter seasons.
How does going into the field complement remote sensing research?
Remote sensing gives us an overview. It’s indispensable for identifying patterns, changes and trends on a large scale. But it’s in the field that we validate and deepen this information.
For example, a piece of data may show vegetation removal, but it’s only in the field that we understand whether this was caused by illegal deforestation, fire or changes in land use by communities.
In addition, direct contact allows us to capture aspects that are not possible with satellites, such as local perceptions, social impacts, adaptation strategies, etc.
What’s different about doing the route by bike, specifically?
Cycling imposes a different rhythm: slower, but more attentive. You feel the terrain, the wind, the heat, which a car, for example, isolates you from. It brings us closer to people, who become curious and want to talk, which creates valuable opportunities for conversations and connection with the territory.
What are the biggest challenges of the expedition?
I think one of the biggest challenges is dealing with the very hot sun, the heat, the dry weather, the constant dust and the steep climbs that we have to overcome pedaling with a bicycle loaded with all our luggage.
*IPAM Communications Coordinator
