Data released by the Deter system, from Inpe (National Institute for Space Research), this Friday (12) show that the Legal Amazon recorded 8,600 km² of biome felled between August 2021 and July 2022, the third largest of the historical series, behind only the two previous years.
The result was condemned by environmentalists and politicians linked to the theme. “Today what you see is a government not only incompetent to protect the Amazon, but efficient in destroying it”, says Izabella Teixeira, former Minister of the Environment.
If we repeat what we saw in the last cycle — when Deter pointed to 8,800 km² of deforestation and Prodes, a reference system that has not yet released its data, 13,000 km² — the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) is on its way to concluding Its the fourth cycle in a row with annual deforestation in the Amazon equal to or greater than 10 km².
Teixeira points out that, according to current data, deforestation in Brazil should return to the level of more than a decade ago — the last time the Amazon recorded four consecutive years of biome loss greater than 10,000 km² was between 2005 and 2008.
Deter’s primary function is not to accurately measure deforestation, but to assist operations to combat environmental crimes. Despite this, through almost real-time satellite monitoring, it is possible to use it to perceive trends in plant suppression.
For being more precise, Prodes, also from Inpe, is the reference system for measuring forest deforestation. However, he has not yet released his data for the current cycle.
“There is always the expectation that, in some way, some efforts could corroborate the reduction of deforestation, but in fact, Deter confirms what cannot be denied. Unfortunately, I will be surprised if Prodes shows deforestation below 10 thousand km², in optimistic perspective, we will remain at the same level”, said the former minister.
In the last three years, Prodes recorded more than 10,000 km² of deforestation. Sought, the Ministry of the Environment stated that “Deter data for July for the Amazon region indicate the lowest index for the month since 2018” and that “the accumulated of the last 12 months points to a reduction of 2.16%”.
“These are the numbers of destruction. They represent the sad reality. They represent exactly what we have witnessed in the last three and a half years. Total dismantling of investments in the fight against deforestation. There is no public policy, there is no political will,” said federal deputy Rodrigo Agostinho. (PSB-SP), leader of the environmental bench in Congress.
“Bolsonaro is the first president since 1988, when he started monitoring deforestation in the biome by satellite, which accounted for three consecutive years of increase. He could win the ‘trophy’ for the fourth consecutive increase. This environmental disaster is the result of his ecocidal directive , the destruction of all federal policies to protect the environment and the implosion of socio-environmental rights”, said Suely Araújo, former president of IBAMA and now director of the Climate Observatory.
The new numbers further consolidate the very high levels of deforestation achieved under Bolsonaro — with the exception of the month of December, the Deter deforestation records of all other months in the current government.
Taking into account Deter data, more than 31,000 km² of Amazonia have been cut down since the beginning of the current administration, in 2019. This is equivalent to approximately more than 720 km² of forest falling to the ground monthly, which represents more than 450 Ibirapuera parks destroyed every month.
Experts also point out that deforestation in the Amazon is on the way to becoming uncontrollable.
“It is becoming difficult to reverse because deforestation is gaining scale, spreading across the territory,” said João Paulo Capobianco, a member of the Brazil Climate, Forests and Agriculture Coalition and of the board of directors of the Democracy and Sustainability Institute.
“The scenario is very bad. We are moving fast to get close to the ‘point of no return’.”
For Teixeira, the only way to try to reverse this situation is through an emergency action, with updating public policies and integration with the security forces to also combat organized crime — which has consolidated itself as an arm of environmental crime in the region.
“We have to understand the dynamics of crime in the Amazon, of organized crime. We have to look not only at environmental agencies, but at public security as well. We need to define a new model so that we never have a setback like what we see today, perfecting the legislation, reforming inspection bodies, and creating an emergency plan,” he said.
