The Cerrado biome under the law

History, Ecology and Law come together in this essay for a critical debate on the conservation of the Cerrado biome. It identifies mismatches between environmental and forestry legislation and the ecosystem conditions that must be safeguarded in order to preserve the biomes multifaceted mosaic of phytophysiognomies, which today is seriously threatened by anthropogenic factors. In order to characterise the devastation underway in the Cerrado - called the Kingdom of the Oreades by the naturalist Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius - and, as a counterpoint, to stimulate sensitive views and attitudes towards the biomes ecological richness and uniqueness, human occupation processes in the region are analysed over a forty-year period. The aim is to lead the reader to a critical reflection based on the following question: to what extent has Brazilian law been able to prevent or, contradictorily, stimulate the fragmentation of vegetation and the very destruction of the Cerrado biome?