Brazil: Deforestation of the Amazon forest increased by 22% in one year

Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil increased by 22% between August 2020 and July 2021 compared to the previous year, which is the highest in the last fifteen years, reveals an official estimate released yesterday, Thursday.

Forest holdings in the largest rainforest in the world expanded by 13,235 square kilometers in the period 2020-2021, which is the largest period in 2005-2006 (14,286 square kilometers), according to data from the PRODES deforestation monitoring system. National Space Research Institute (INPE) of Brazil.

This is fifteen times the area of ​​New York City.

This is the third annual increase since Zaih Bolsonaru took over the presidency of Brazil. The president has been sharply criticized internationally for weakening surveillance of the Amazon rainforest ecosystem and defending the exploitation of areas of theoretically protected areas.

“These numbers are a challenge for us and we need to be tougher on environmental offenses,” Brazilian Environment Minister Joaquim Leic told a news conference in Brasilia shortly after the release of the PRODES document.

However, he tried to relativize the situation, assuring that the data “do not accurately reflect the reality of recent months.”

The Brazilian government claims to have stepped up its efforts to combat illegal deforestation by deploying army units in the field.

Nevertheless, the president, a far-right former captain, continues to approve farms and the opening of mines and mines in parts of the rainforest.

Between August 2019 and July 2020, the deforested area reached 10,851 square kilometers.

During COP26, the UN International Climate Summit, Brazil pledged to accelerate by two years, from 2030 to 2028, the deadline set for the complete elimination of illegal deforestation in its territory. 60% of the Amazon forest.

For Mauricio Vojvodic, executive director of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) branch in Brazil, the figures released yesterday show the “reality” that the Bolsonaro government is “trying to cover up” “The reality is that it has accelerated the process of destroying the Amazon rainforest.”