Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon reached a new record for January in the first three weeks of the year, according to data from the Deter program of Inpe (National Institute for Space Research).
About 360 km² of forest were destroyed from January 1st to 21st, points out Deter, a program that aims to assist enforcement actions, but which, through constant monitoring, can be used to observe deforestation trends.
Although the record stops on January 21, the area deforested to that day is already larger than any full January since 2015, the start of Deter’s recent record.
Deforestation in the Amazon in January last year was 83 km², four times less than that recorded in the first three weeks of 2022.
Environmental experts said the data could indicate a heightened risk that 2022 could become another devastating year for the Amazon, where deforestation has increased since President Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019.
“Such a high number in January, which is the peak of the rainy season, certainly draws attention and makes us extremely worried,” Claudio Angelo, from the NGO Observatório do Clima, told AFP.
In November, Inpe announced that deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon had been 13,235 kmtwo between August 2020 and July 2021, the highest value since 2006.
It was the third consecutive annual increase since Bolsonaro came to power, who has come under international criticism for having weakened forest protection policies and for openly advocating mining and agricultural exploitation in protected areas.
“We have to wait for the next few months, but the sign is not good at all,” added Angelo.
The Climate Observatory revealed on Tuesday that IBAMA spent only 41% of its budget in 2021.
Source: Folha
