Valuing the Cerrado

Abstract

The Cerrado, a vast and biodiverse savanna in Brazil, is often referred to as the "cradle of waters" due to its role in sustaining eight major river basins. However, over the past four decades, it has been severely impacted by agricultural expansion, resulting in widespread deforestation, disruption of hydrological cycles, and a decline in biodiversity. Part of the Cerrado biome, Western Bahia— a grain-exporting region that lies over the Urucuia Aquifer—has undergone land-use practices that have transformed the landscape into a water-exporting territory, resulting in significant environmental and social impacts.

This thesis investigates how landscape architecture can mitigate these pressures by enhancing aesthetic and ecological perceptions of the Cerrado. Through a comprehensive approach that combines historical, environmental, cultural, and geospatial analyses, the study identifies the Janeiro River Basin, a preservation area in Western Bahia, as an area affected by monoculture expansion and water depletion. The thesis proposes the design of the Urucuia Botanical Garden, situated in the Janeiro River Basin preservation area, a landscape design that bridges community participation, aesthetic perception, ecological awareness, and research. The project is a starting point for rethinking productive landscapes and relationships with the biome, envisioning Western Bahia as a region that could potentially transition from a commodity-based export economy to one grounded in a new local and global logic centered on ecological value and social inclusion, rooted in the native socio-biodiversity.