Bolsonaro Government sets record deforestation levels in the Amazon

Posted previously in Youth Politician on Jun 24, 2022.

Amazon’s deforestation through May 2022 is the highest since 2016; it reached nearly 900 km, is the second worst number in history

The Brazilian Amazon had 3,360 square kilometers deforested during the first 5 months of the year. Deforestation continues to rise month after month, the forest has lost the equivalent of 2,000 soccer fields a day of native forest. Data from the Institute of Man and the Environment of the Amazon (Imazon, in Portuguese) indicate that deforestation in the first months of the year was the highest since 2016 — compared to the same period of months.

Data research from National Institute for Space Research (Inpe, in Portuguese), responsible for monitoring and controlling any impacts on the tropics and other biomes in Brazil, indicates that, from January to May, the Amazon had already lost 2778 km² of vegetation, which corresponds to an increase of 9% over the previous year.

The area already represents 21% of forests devastated throughout 2021, when 13,038 km² (consolidated rate) of forests was stripped off. It is worth reminding that 2021 was the worst in the last 15 years, when deforestation rates jumped by 73% at the time, classified as the worst index since 2006.

At this rate, in the foreseeable future, the Amazon’s destruction will reach 15,000 km² in the end of 2022.

Every month, alerts from deforested areas repeatedly headline the news covers of Brazilian papers. According to data from Amazon’s Deforestation Alert System (SAD) bulletin, by April 2022, deforestation in the Amazon had already reached the largest area in the past 10 years, with 778 km² of clear-cutting. In March, the number was even higher, a record of 810 km² lost forest area.

Unsurprisingly, last month was registered as the second highest of all Mays since 2016. Inpe registered deforestation alerts for 899.64 km² of forest, which is approximately twice the size of the city of Tel Aviv. The first was placed in May 2021, which holds the record for destruction with 1.90 km² felled, in comparison to the same month in other years.

However, experts say May’s value is still significant due to the large devastated area in a single month period and because the worst months of destruction are yet to come. Historically, deforestation intensifies in the dry season — when it doesn’t rain.

Bolsonaro: “Brazil is a sustainable agricultural power”

Related to a greater advance of farm exploitation, deforestation took a leap with Bolsonaro’s government. Since the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was elected in 2019, the destruction caused by mining in the Amazon jumped from 18 km² in 2015 to 121 km², almost seven times more, according to data from Inpe.

Added to the average annual deforestation figure in the Amazon has increased by 75% over the previous decade. Environmental specialists have analyzed that the Brazilian government fails to curb criminal activities, such as illegal mining. At the same time, it tries to legalize them so that they can occur without legal obstacles and fines.

An aerial view shows deforestation near a forest on the border between Amazonia and Cerrado in Nova Xavantina, Mato Grosso state, Brazil July 28, 2021. Credits: REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli/File Photo

Bolsonaro’s stance has not changed in the face of international criticism. Being a close ally of agribusiness, the Brazilian president recently stated, on June 10th during the 9th Summit of the Americas hosted in Los Angeles, that Brazil is a “sustainable agricultural power” and that the country does not need to deforest “in the Amazon region to expand our agribusiness”.

This statement contradicts his own speech, that it wouldn’t be possible to continue demarcating indigenous lands and environmental reserves at the risk of making the country economically impractical. Because, the country’s trade balance depends on the production of soy, cattle, coffee and sugar, etc.

After the meeting with Joe Biden, the President of the United States commented again on the interest in launching an international effort to finance the conservation of the biome. “I think the rest of the world should join in helping you fund this so you can preserve as much as you can. We all benefit from it,” Biden said, without specifying how such funding could come about.

In front of the leaders of 22 countries in the Americas, Bolsonaro assured that Brazil conserves “84% of the Amazon rainforest intact”, due to the “rigid” Brazilian environmental legislation, which he called an “example to the world”. He also defended that the country “feeds 1 billion people in the world” thanks to its agricultural production, which occupies only 27% of the national territory, in the words of the president.