The areas with deforestation alerts in the Amazon reached an absolute record in the recent history of Deter, from Inpe (National Institute for Space Research), for the month of April. 1,012.5 km² of forest were cut down.
It is the first time that one of the first four months of the year has deforestation that exceeds 1,000 square kilometers.
The value, another record of forest destruction under the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government, represents a significant jump of 74% in relation to deforestation alerts registered in April last year, around 580.5 km², a number that also it was the record for the month.
The more than 1,000 km² destroyed attract attention for the moment they occur. April is still within the rainy season in the Amazon, in which, normally, deforestation is lower, precisely because of the difficulties imposed by the weather for the practice of deforestation – which, in the biome, are mostly illegal.
Such a large area felled is not customary in any month of the year, but, historically, when it occurs, it is from June, period in which the dry season has already started.
In May of last year, deforestation was above 1,000 km², which is also historically unusual for the month.
The data comes from the Deter program, an Inpe program that triggers deforestation alerts practically in time and that, in this way, has the function of assisting environmental inspection actions. The measurement history begins in the second half of 2015 (monitoring started earlier, but technological changes prevent direct comparisons with the platform’s older data). Even though its primary function is not measuring deforestation, from Deter it is possible to see felling trends over the months.
And the situation that is portrayed for deforestation in the year is already worrying. So far, three of the four months of 2022 have had records of deforestation alerts. Only March was slightly below the previous maximum drop value (which was March 2021).
election year
Historically, election years, such as 2022, have higher deforestation rates. What increases the concern on the subject is the fact that the Amazon is coming from three consecutive years of increased destruction, with values already exceeding 13 thousand km² of devastated forest.
Bolsonaro, since before assuming the presidency, has been opposed to environmental inspection actions and spoke of an alleged and never proven industry of environmental fines. Upon taking over the Planalto Palace, the president began to question and disallow ongoing operations.
The president and his supporters, on several occasions, also criticized Inpe, the national government’s own institute that provides, with active transparency, deforestation and burning rates. The president’s speeches led to the dismissal of former Inpe director Ricardo Galvão.
Environmental inspection, much criticized by Bolsonaro, also suffered losses during the current president’s term. Fines for environmental crimes reached the lowest numbers in the last 20 years, despite increasing deforestation. In addition, recent data shows that the Bolsonaro government has enforced less than 3% of deforestation alerts in the country since 2019.
While Bolsonaro minimized deforestation and fires – actions normally associated – in the Amazon, researchers warned that this type of discourse could encourage the practice of environmental crimes and increase the deforestation of the forest, as we see today.
“The causes of this record have a name and surname: Jair Messias Bolsonaro”, says, in a note, Marcio Astrini, executive secretary of the Climate Observatory, a network that brings together dozens of environmental institutions in the country. “Brazil’s ecocide-in-chief has triumphed in turning the Amazon into a lawless territory, and deforestation will be whatever the squatters want it to be.”
The Climate Observatory, however, makes a reservation regarding the data and the potential of Deter to record deforestation. The system’s detections are usually very hindered by clouds, especially in the rainy months. For this reason, in more than 1,000 km², landslides made in previous months and not previously seen by Deter satellites may be present.
In any case, says the Climate Observatory, the magnitude of the data is surprising and points out that deforestation in 2022 should once again exceed 10,000 km².
