Deforestation in the Amazon touched 1,455 km2 in September, a record for this month of the year, according to official data published on Friday that indicate that 2022 could exceed the historical record of the first year of Jair Bolsonaro’s government.
The deforested area in the Brazilian part of the world’s largest rainforest has increased by 48% compared to September 2021, according to the satellite monitoring system of Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
Deforestation also slightly exceeded the deforestation record recorded for a month of September (1,454 km2) dating from 2019, according to INPE, which installed this monitoring system in 2015.
From January to the end of September “deforestation is already 4.5% higher than that of all of 2021,” said the NGO Observatoire du Climat.
This figure suggests the possibility that the historical record for deforestation, registered in 2019, with 9,178 km2, will be reached or even exceeded.
Lula promises to fight against deforestation
According to some experts, deforestation and forest fires are intensifying this year because far-right President Jair Bolsonaro could be defeated in the second round of presidential elections by former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Lula promises to be more rigorous in the preservation of the Amazon, more than 60% of which is in Brazilian territory.
“Anyone who values the future of the jungle, the life of indigenous peoples and the possibility of having a planet that is still habitable, should vote to remove Bolsonaro from the presidency on October 30,” said Marcio Astrani, executive secretary of Climate. Observatory, in a press release.
Although his record during his two terms in office (2003-2010) is far from satisfactory, Lula has promised to increase the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in the framework of the Paris Agreements, the reactivation of the Amazon Fund supplemented with financing international for the protection of the forest and the fight against deforestation.
Since Jair Bolsonaro came to power in January 2019, the average annual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has increased by 75% compared to the previous decade. The outgoing president favored mining and agriculture (crops, livestock) in the Amazon, to the detriment of the jungle.
Source: BFM TV
