In the Brazilian Amazon region, deforestation continues. Last month it was almost 400 square kilometers of rainforest. The highest value for January since 2015.
Rio de Janeiro – Around 360 square kilometers of rainforest in the Brazilian Amazon region were lost to deforestation in January alone.
This is the highest value for this month since 2015, the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) reported, citing preliminary figures. The Inpe evaluates satellite images. For comparison – the 360 square kilometers are just below the area of the Baltic Sea island of Usedom (373 square kilometers)
With a rapid survey, it examines the changes in the forest in real time. The Inpe figures give an indication of how the official deforestation rate could develop in relation to one year. The rate refers to the period from August to July.
At the UN climate conference COP26, the Brazilian government announced that it would end illegal deforestation in the Amazon rainforest by 2028. Experts worry the latest data could point to an increased risk of another devastating year for the Amazon.
According to the INPE, the deforested area in the region was 13,235 square kilometers between August 2020 and July 2021. This is a 22 percent increase from August 2019 to July 2020, and the area deforested was the largest since 2008.
2019 was right-wing Jair Bolsonaro’s first year as Brazilian president. He was criticized for the devastating fires in the Amazon region. Environmentalists accuse him of putting up with the fires in order to open up new areas for agriculture. At the same time, environmental and control authorities have been weakened. dpa
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