Roraima, Brazil

Brazil
Governor Suely Campos
Representative Flavia Furtado Alves Special Adviser for Environmental Analysis - FEMARH
Representative Rogerio Martins Campos Director of Water Resources - FEMARH

Description

Roraima is one of the two Brazilian states that was born from the Federal Constitution of 1988. The state is located north of the Brazilian Amazônia and covers roughly 225,000 km². It borders the Cooperative Republic of Guyana (formerly British Guiana) and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, with the states of Amazonas and Pará. The whole state occupies around 2.6% of the Brazilian territory and 4.5% of the Brazilian territory. Legal Amazon.

The state of Roraima presents basically a vegetative composition in which the humid forests predominate, represented by the phytoecological units: Dense Ombrophylous Forest, Open Ombrophylous Forest, Seasonal Forest and Alluvial Ombrophylous Forest, and in the central and north-northeast , the savannah areas in their most diverse features.

The forests are predominantly of the rainy or ombrophilous type in the southern and seasonal part in the central and northern part of the state. They have a spectrum ranging from terra firme forests to those of periodically flooded floodplains. The alluvial forests are restricted to the floodplains of the main watercourses, as well as to some flooded areas of the southwest region, these interspersed with features of campinarana and pioneer formations.

The features of savannas, which dominate the central and north-northeast part of the state, are in tree, park and grassy forms. In the extreme north of Roraima one observes the feature characterized like esthetic, in the arboreal forms and park. At present, there is a high degree of anthropism in the environments dominated by the savannas, represented mainly by the occupation with pastures and crops, as well as altered abandoned areas.

In addition to the phytoecological units represented by the various forms of Campinarana and Pioneer Formations, areas of ecological tension or transition (contacts) can be evidenced in the State of Roraima between the two forest features, between savannas and forests, between campinarana and forests and between pioneer formations and forests.

Biodiversity, scenic waters and exotic beauties, richly scattered in varied and readily accessible environments, are important for social development. Its ethnic-cultural constitution is unique, in that more than 50% of the State is made up of indigenous lands and the whole lives in the same space, although enclosing diverse cultural elements.

Its exploitation can only be made via the environment, society and economy equation.

The Roraima Forest still represents the vulnerable point of the development of the young state. Illegal logging and the predominance of archaic production methods, such as the use of fire, are still vivid and priority issues for current environmental management.

Summary

Total Land Area 224,301 km²
% of Land That Is Forest 65.7 %
Deforestation Trend -34.7 % 2016 - 2017

Demographics

Population of State/Province 522,633
% of National Population 0.3%

Urban vs. Rural Population

Category %
Urban 84.20
Rural 15.80

Ethnic Groups

Group %
Multi-ethnic 68.80
White 20.00
Black 7.40
Indigenous 3.80

Economy

State/Province GDP BRL 6.90 B
Annual Per Capita Income BRL 12,072

GDP Breakdown

Category %
Services 87.50
8.70
Agriculture, Forestry 3.80
Human Development Index 0.707
Main Exports wood, leather

Forest Status

Original Forest Area 156,296 km²
Current Forest Area 147,293 km²
Total Area Deforested 9,003 km²
Total Forest Carbon 1,472 M MtC

Major Vegetation Types

Category km²
Forest 151,690
Other Land Uses 63,947
Pastureland 4,890
Secondary Vegetation 3,672
Agriculture 15

Forest Management

Category km²
Unprotected 120,505
Protected 31,185

Drivers of Deforestation

The deforestation in Roraima is driven primarily by agriculture and livestock expansion.  Burning to clear areas often results in out of control forest fires which reaches large tracts of vegetation, causing forest degradation and at times acting as a pre-cursor to deforestation.

Logging is also a relevant factor that contributes to deforestation. Although most logging is licensed, there is still illegal logging in more remote areas, including in indigenous territories. 

Deforestation Rates

Notes

a.

Due to different methodological approaches and base years, Forest Status data fields may differ slightly. Data sources for each field are listed below.

Sources

1.

https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/brasil/rr/panorama
2.

IBGE
3.

https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/brasil/rr/panorama
4.

TerraClass 2014
5.

https://uc.socioambiental.org/uc/pesquisa/uf/RR