Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 68% in April 2023 (compared to April 2022), four months after Lula came to power, who promised to end the phenomenon by 2030.
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 68% in April compared to the same month last year, according to official figures published on Friday, a convincing result which needs to be confirmed over time.
Four months after Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva came to power who promised to end deforestation in the world’s largest rainforest by 2030, some 328 km2 of forest area has been destroyed, data shows. satellites from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
A drastic reduction of 68% compared to the 1026 km2 deforested in April 2022, the last year of the presidency of his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
“A clear trend of reduction”
This is the most significant drop in 2023, after the 61% drop recorded in January compared to the same month in 2022. To be put into perspective, however, with the results for February (+61% deforestation) and March (+ 14%).
“There are signs of improvement in the Amazon,” said Daniel Silva, conservation specialist at the NGO WWF Brazil, to AFP.
“The last four months show a reduction of 40% compared to the same period last year (…) It is positive, but to affirm that there is a clear trend of reduction, we must wait for the results of the period of peak deforestation”, he added, however, in reference to August.
Daniel Silva also alerted to the situation in the Cerrado, a region of savannah rich in biodiversity located in the south of the Amazon which recorded a 60% increase in deforestation during the first four months of the year.
“There is an urgent need for the government to come up with a solid plan to tackle deforestation in this biome”, which has already lost “half of its original vegetation”.
Advance of farms
According to experts, the destruction of primitive forests in the immense Brazil is mainly due to the advance of agricultural exploitations to install cattle and cultures there.
To help Brazil, several countries have promised to contribute to the Amazon Fund, created in 2008 during Lula’s first term as president, to protect the immense forest essential to the balance of the climate and global biodiversity.
At the end of April, Lula announced the approval of six new indigenous reserves, the first legalized in five years, considered as bulwarks like deforestation, granting these lands to indigenous peoples to preserve their traditional way of life.
Under the Bolsonaro presidency, the average annual deforestation in the Amazon has increased by 75% compared to the previous decade.
