Over a 12-month period, the area of the Amazon rainforest lost 6,288 square kilometers (2,428 sq mi), roughly equal to the size of the US state of Delaware. , Photo Credit: AP
Forest loss in Brazil’s Amazon dropped 30.6% from last year, the lowest level of destruction in nine years, officials said Wednesday.
Over a 12-month period, the area of the Amazon rainforest lost 6,288 square kilometers (2,428 sq mi), roughly equal to the size of the US state of Delaware.
The results, announced at Brazil’s presidential palace, stand in stark contrast to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s predecessor, far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, who prioritized agribusiness expansion over forest conservation and weakened environmental agencies. During his tenure, deforestation reached a 15-year high.
Deforestation in Brazil’s vast savanna, known as the Cerrado, fell by 25.7%, the first decline in five years. The area destroyed reached 8,174 square kilometers (3,156 sq mi). Located in central Brazil, it is the most biodiverse savanna in the world, but it has less legal protection than the Amazon.
Despite success in halting Amazon deforestation, Lula’s government has been criticized by environmentalists for supporting projects that could damage the region, such as the paving of a highway that cuts through old growth areas in the Amazon. Drilling for oil in the river mouth and building railways to transport soy to Amazonian ports.
Brazil’s deforestation monitoring system tracks from August 1 to July 30, so Wednesday’s report does not include destruction from the past few months, as a historic drought opened the way for a surge in wildfires. Which burnt an area larger than Switzerland.
Most of the damage caused by fire is classified as degradation, not deforestation, because fires in the Amazon rainforest spread mostly through leaves on the ground, not through the tops of trees. But the full impact will be assessed over the next months through further satellite monitoring. Government officials already fear deforestation rates could increase next year as the Amazon city of Belém prepares to host the annual United Nations climate talks, known as COP30.
The Amazon, an area twice the size of India, is the world’s largest rainforest, about two-thirds of it in Brazil. It stores huge amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that causes climate change. Thus the Amazon prevents the climate from warming even faster than it otherwise would. The basin also contains about 20% of the world’s fresh water and biodiversity includes 16,000 known tree species.
published – November 07, 2024 02:16 PM IST