In addition to being the smallest Brazilian biome, Pampa, present only in part of Rio Grande do Sul, is also the biome least protected by conservation units present throughout the country. The data was presented at the technical-scientific seminar promoted by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change to discuss the development of a plan to prevent and control deforestation in the biome. 
The ministry’s executive secretary, João Paulo Capobianco, said that the region currently has only 49 conservation units, which cover only 3.03% of its area of around 17.6 million hectares.
During the meeting, Capobianco recalled that Brazil is a signatory to the Aichi goals, established at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations (COP10), in 2010, in Japan, which provided for the protection of 17% of the continental area and 10% of the marine environment through the creation of integral protection zones.
The deadline for achieving the goals was 2020, but it was not met in relation to the Pampa biome. The international commitment was renewed by the Brazilian government during the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations (COP15), in Montreal, Canada, when the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework for Biodiversity expanded the goals to 30% of full protection of both biomes land and maritime areas, by 2030.
Capobianco recalled that with little left to meet the new deadline, only 122 thousand hectares of Pampa correspond to strictly protected areas and 416 thousand hectares are in conservation areas, but are for sustainable use.
“We must all seek to overcome these challenges. The federal government has six conservation units in the Pampa biome, if they are created, we will increase the protection of the biome by 2.5%, with the inclusion of another 486 thousand hectares, we would therefore reach 5.5%, still very far from the 30%”, he warned.
For the executive secretary of the ministry, in addition to achieving the goals, the country needs to face the challenge of degradation and define what actions are taken, both in the technical-scientific field and in public policies, that can promote the conservation and restoration of areas of extremely high biological importance.
“Pampa, as well as Pantanal, have a vocation for ecologically sustainable livestock farming. This must be strengthened, but, obviously, we have to avoid the expansion and replacement of natural fields with agricultural plantations, which could in fact compromise the entire biome,” he said.
The seminar is the first step towards developing a plan to combat the suppression of native vegetation. After the debates, a proposal must be submitted for public consultation so that plans for each of the biomes can be launched by the federal government.
According to Capobianco, these public policies will also undergo annual assessments for review and adjustments to make them increasingly efficient. “Pampa will be part of a national effort to protect all of Brazil’s spectacular, unparalleled and incomparable socio-biodiversity,” he said.
