Preliminary government data published today, Friday, revealed that the deforestation rate of the Amazon rainforests in Brazil has declined for the second month in a row from last August.

Published data from the local space research agency showed that deforestation permits in August covered 918 kilometers squared, scoring a 32% decline from the same month, one year ago.

In addition, between January and August, the deforestation rate witnessed a 1.2% decrease to 6,026 kilometers squared.

However, despite the slight decline, the deforestation rate remains high and similar to what it was between January and August 2018, before right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro took office.

The forest destruction in Brazil increased after Bolsonaro took office in 2019, where the president immediately took decisions that weakened the environmental protection process.

It is noteworthy to mention that in the past few weeks, there have been some indications that the government is taking some steps to limit the increasing deforestation.

Last August, The Brazilian Minister of Environment, Joaquim Pereira Leite, said that the government doubled the budget for environmental protection and is planning to hire about 700 new field staff.