Researches indicate that Brazil’s forest loss has been increasing since President Jair Bolsonaro was elected in 2019.
According to new government data for January, Brazil saw the most deforestation in Amazon rainforest history. The destruction continues despite recent pledges to reduce it.
According to preliminary satellite data released by Inpe, Brazil’s Amazon saw deforestation of 430sq km (166sq mi) last month. This figure is five times greater than January 2021.
This was the highest January total since 2015, when the current data set began.
These new data were released as environmental researchers had been stating that the destruction still increasing is largely due President Jair Bolsonaro. A right-wing leader, Bolsonaro has weakened environmental protections in the nation since his election in 2019.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro long advocated for more mining and commercial agriculture in the Amazon to lift the region from poverty [Adriano Machado/Reuters]Britaldo Soares filho, an environmental modeling researcher at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, stated that illegal land grabs are taking place without fear of punishment and forests are being cleared for ranches. Demand for land that is cheap is also rising due to high prices of beef, soy and other commodities.
Soares Filho stated that people might be surprised that it didn’t rise even more.
There is a race against the Amazon.
The Ministry of the Environment stated that comparing single months does not give the best picture. It noted that deforestation decreased slightly in August to January compared to the same period a full year ago.
The ministry stated that the federal government will act more forcefully in 2022 in order to combat environmental crimes.
The Amazon region of Colombia is also under threat. Environmental groups raised concern Tuesday about a sharp increase of forest fires. This was blamed on illegal roads and logging to make space for cattle ranches and coca fields.
More than 150 activists and academics representing France, Spain and Brazil wrote a letter to President Ivan Duque in Colombia urging him to take a stronger stance against deforestation. They asked that the military be used to put out the fires and create economic alternatives for those living in the Amazon region. They also requested that the government arrest those who finance efforts to clear the forest.
Because of the immense amount of greenhouse gas absorbed by its trees and the Amazon, preservation is crucial to halting climate change.
Bolsonaro has argued for more Amazonian mining and commercial farming to help lift the region from poverty.
Brazil, under pressure from Europe and Americas, pledged last year that it would end illegal deforestation by 2028.
Because of the immense amount of greenhouse gas absorbed by its trees and the Amazon’s size, preservation of this rainforest is essential to curbing climate change. [File: Adriano Machado/Reuters]At the UN climate summit 2021, 141 countries, including Brazil, signed a commitment to end deforestation by 2030.
Inpe released data soon after these commitments, showing that deforestation of theBrazilian Amazon in 2021 was at its highest point in 15-years. The destruction is not stopping, as shown by the preliminary January data.
Ana Karine Pereira is a political scientist at University of Brasilia. She said that while Bolsonaro’s government changed their tone last yea, their policies are the same.
Pereira and Soares Filho said that deforestation would only stop if Bolsonaro loses October’s presidential election.
Pereira stated that the moment is critical to see a change in the political profile and leadership of the federal government in order for this trend to high levels of deforestation to end.
