edition
Ar Es
Al Mayadeen English
  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Feature
  • Videos
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Feature
Videos
Infographs
In Pictures
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Latin America
  4. Brazilian Amazon deforestation, up 60% increase under Bolsonaro, drops
Latin America

Brazilian Amazon deforestation, up 60% increase under Bolsonaro, drops

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 2 Dec 2022 23:42
  • 1 Shares

Annual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen 11.27% from the previous year, according to official data.

  • Amazon deforestation drops in Brazil. Source: AFP/GETTY.
    Amazon deforestation drops in Brazil. (Getty Images)

New government data show that deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has decreased in the 12 months through July, as incoming President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva seeks to restore protection for the vital rainforest.

According to INPE data released on Wednesday, 11,568 square kilometers (4,466 square miles) of forest cover were destroyed in the Brazilian Amazon from August 2021 to July 2022.

This was an 11% decrease from the same period last year when deforestation reached a 15-year high under far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

“It’s better to have a lower number than a higher number, but it’s still a very high number – the second highest in 13 years,” said Marcio Astrini, head of the Climate Observatory, an environmental advocacy group.

Read next: Amazon rainforest fund revived again in light of Lula's win in Brazil

The data released on Wednesday marked the end of four years of what environmentalists call disastrous Amazon management under Bolsonaro, who has been accused of weakening environmental and Indigenous protection agencies in favor of agribusiness and mining interests.

Under Bolsonaro, the average annual deforestation increased by 59.5% over the previous four years and 75.5% over the previous decade, according to INPE figures. “The Bolsonaro government was a forest-destroying machine… The only good news is that it’s about to end,” Astrini said in a statement.

“The devastation remains out of control. Jair Bolsonaro will hand his successor a filthy legacy of surging deforestation and an Amazon in flames.”

Bolsonaro's office and the environment ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Experts say the vast majority of the clear-cutting and fires erasing the Amazon are to create new farmland -- especially for cattle ranches in Brazil, the world's top beef exporter.

The deforestation figures show the Amazon is being pushed toward a "tipping point", warned Mariana Napolitano, science director at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Brazil office.

"Significantly reducing deforestation... is imperative for humankind in the face of the twin climate and nature crises the world is facing," she said in a statement.

Lula to the rescue

However, Lula, a left-wing leader who won elections last month in a close race, has promised to work toward zero deforestation when he takes office on January 1, knowing that annual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 75% during Lula's first presidency.

“Brazil is ready to resume its leading role in the fight against the climate crisis,” he said shortly after being declared the winner of the October 30 presidential run-off.

Read next: Rainforest giants Brazil, Indonesia, DR Congo sign deforestation pact

He also spoke at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt earlier this month, telling hundreds of attendees that "Brazil is back in the world."

Indigenous leaders have raised concerns about the threats to their communities in the Brazilian Amazon under Bolsonaro, particularly in areas with little government oversight that farmers, miners, and poachers are attempting to control and exploit.

Last year, the Indigenous Missionary Council recorded 305 cases of "invasions, illegal exploitation of resources, and property damage" on Indigenous territories, affecting 226 Indigenous lands in 22 Brazilian states.

  • Jair Bolsonaro
  • Lula da Silva
  • Brazil
  • Amazon

Trending Now

All
Brazil’s former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, right, and congressional candidate Marina Silva, campaign in Sao Paulo, Brazil, September 12, 2022 (AP Photo)

Lula picks Amazon defender for environment minister

Most Read

US unprepared for potential war with China: Study

US unprepared for potential war with China: Study

  • US & Canada
  • 23 Jan
Is this Western war on Russia simply stupidity?

Is this Western war on Russia simply stupidity?

  • Opinion
  • 22 Jan
Twitter headquarters is shown in San Francisco on Nov. 4, 2022 (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

FBI created dashboard to mislabel Twitter users as Russian bots

  • US & Canada
  • 27 Jan
The Russian-manufactured Marker 2 tank-striker (Military Review)

Russia reveals Marker 2 combat robots

  • Europe
  • 26 Jan

Read this

All
Dozens of thousands rally against Netanyahu in "Tel Aviv" for the fourth consecutive week
Palestine

Tens of thousands rally against Netanyahu in "Tel Aviv": Israeli Media

  • 28 Jan
Kiev aims securing  missiles to strike Crimea: Zelensky's advisor
Politics

Kiev eyes securing missiles to strike Crimea: Zelensky's advisor

  • 28 Jan
A man on a bicycle passes the headquarters of Germany's biggest arms manufacturer Rheinmetall AG in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Jan. 23, 2023 (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Europe

Rheinmetall capitalizes on Western insecurities

  • 28 Jan
14 Killed, 24 wounded after Kiev shelled hospital in Lugansk: Russia
Europe

14 Killed, 24 wounded after Kiev shelled hospital in Lugansk: Russia

  • 28 Jan
Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS