Cerrado biodiversity and health surveillance initiatives in Brazil

In Brazil's Cerrado biome, new initiatives are focusing on biodiversity monitoring and integrated health surveillance. The Patas do Cerrado project, launched in 2024 by Grupo Bom Jesus, has engaged employees across 25 units in the Midwest region to document wildlife. Participants have recorded over 1,800 encounters with species such as jaguars, maned wolves, and tapirs in legal reserves, productive areas, and internal roads. This data collection aims to support environmental education and assist in meeting international certification criteria.

Simultaneously, Fiocruz and the Federal University of Goiás (UFG) held a seminar in Goiânia titled ‘Integrated Surveillance in the Cerrado: Science, Territory, and Decision-Making for Sociobiodiversity’. The event addressed the pressures facing the biome and its traditional populations due to predatory development models. The seminar sought to develop a participatory surveillance model that integrates environmental, epidemiological, social, and productive data to strengthen public policies for the protection of the region.