For the second consecutive month, deforestation alerts in the Amazon broke the record of the recent historical series by Deter, a program run by Inpe (National Institute for Space Research), starting in 2015/2016.
In February of this year, Deter registered just over 198 km² of areas under alert for deforestation in the Amazon. In second place appears 2020, with 186 km².
Deter’s role is to assist in environmental inspection through alerts, practically in real time, of deforestation occurring in the Amazon. Although its objective is primarily linked to enforcement actions, the program can also be used to observe the trend of deforestation in the biome.
Despite being a record, the number recorded in February is relatively low (considering the usual rates of deforestation), which is common for the first and last months of the year, in which the rainy season in the forest makes deforestation difficult.
Since the beginning of the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government, deforestation rates have remained at high levels, reaching the highest values seen in the last decade.
The president, already in his campaign, stated, without presenting evidence, that there would be an alleged industry of environmental fines. Elected, he even disallowed environmental inspection action in progress and has been continuously positioning himself in favor of releasing projects for the exploitation of protected lands.
In 2022, there is still an extra concern in the Amazon scenario. Election years are often accompanied by higher levels of deforestation — and not just in the Amazon, but even in the super-devastated Atlantic Forest.
Bolsonaro’s main bet in the Amazon was to use the Armed Forces to fight environmental crimes, an action widely questioned due to its high cost — several times higher than the budget of Ibama, which has teams specialized in combating these crimes — and lack of expertise.
At the moment, the government is in favor of permitting mining on indigenous lands, areas known for low deforestation rates.
