According to environmentalists, Amazon’s loss in April is equivalent to 1,400 football pitches. This is a very high level for this time of the year.
Official data revealed that deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rose to a new record for April. This is despite environmental rights advocates continuing to condemn President Jair Bolsonaros’s policies to accelerate the crisis.
According to data released Friday by INPE, Amazon’s deforestation was 1,012.5sq km (390sq mi) between April 1 and 29. Next week, the agency will release data for the last day of the month.
The area affected is approximately 1,400 football fields. It is the largest April loss since 2015.
Bolsonaro’s latest shocking statistic on Amazon deforestation, which he claims has hindered economic development in the region, is also the third in just four months.
The cause of this record has a first- and last-name: Jair Messias Bolsonaro, Marcio Attrini, head, Brazilian advocacy group Climate Observatory said in a statement.
The destruction of the Brazilian Amazon in the first 4 months of the year also set a record at 1,954sqkm (754sq mi) which is a 69 percent increase over the same period in 2021, which saw New York City’s area nearly double in size.
Experts have also raised concerns about high deforestation rates in the rainy season when loggers often have more difficulty accessing tree stumps.
Mariana Napolitano (science director at the World Wildlife Funds Brazil) stated that this figure is very high for this time of the year. This is an alarming sign of the immense pressure on the forest.
Bolsonaros office, Environment Ministry did not immediately reply to a request from Reuters news agency for comment.
Bolsonaro, who is running for re-election in highly anticipated Oct polls, has been subject to international condemnation over the damage done to the Amazon.
The preservation of the largest rainforest in the world is crucial to halting climate change due to the immense amount of greenhouse gas absorbed by its trees.
Last week, Leonardo DiCaprio, an American actor, took to Twitter to urge Brazilians not to vote in the upcoming elections.
Brazil is home of the Amazon and other ecosystems that are critical to climate change. He tweeted that the Amazon’s fate is important for all of us and that youth voting is crucial in driving change towards a healthy planet.
Brazil is home of the Amazon and other ecosystems that are critical to climate change.
Youth voting is key to ensuring a healthy planet. What happens there is important. For more on voter registration in Brazil before May 4, visit https://t.co/0mKrfxLdRR #tiraotitulohojeLeonardo DiCaprio (@LeoDiCaprio) April 28, 2022
