Deforestation at the Brazilian Amazon has reached its lowest level in nine years during a month of February, with a 64% reduction compared to the same month last year, according to official data published on Wednesday, March 12.
The encouraging figures, while Brazil will organize the UN Conference on the Cop30 climate in the Amazon city of Belem in November. The largest tropical forest on the planet plays a crucial role in the absorption of greenhouse gases.
According to the data collected by the satellites of the Space Research Institute (INPE), deforestation affected 80.95 km2 in the Brazilian Amazon last month.
This is the lowest level recorded since the use of the determine alert system in 2016. In February 2024, 226.51 km2 had been deforested there.
Eradicate illegal deforestation by 2030
Deforestation also fell 24% during this same period in closed, a tropical savanna very rich in biodiversity, but the recently deforested surface remains very high, reaching 494 km2.
The president of the left, Luiz Inacio Da Silva, is committed to eradicating the illegal deforestation of Brazil, mainly due to the actors in the agricultural sector in search of land for agriculture and cultures.
Since his return to power in 2023, deforestation in the Amazon has fallen continuously, after having jumped under the mandate of his predecessor of the extreme right Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022).
According to the detection of the INPE system, it was reduced by half in 2023 (5,156 km2 against 10,278 km2 in 2022), before continuing this fall in 2024 (4,183 km2, 19% less than in 2023).
But these data contrast with the spectacular increase in the plant surface degraded by fires, which is counted separately.
The latter increased by 79% in 2024, according to a report of the Mapbiomas surveillance platform published in January.
30.8 million hectares who went to smoking in 2019
Some 30.8 million hectares (308,000 km2) have risen to smoke, the largest area affected by fires in Brazil since 2019.
According to official data, more than 140,000 fires were recorded in the Brazilian Amazon in 2024, unheard of 17 years and an increase of 42% compared to 2023.
The year 2024 was marked by a linked historical drought, according to experts, with global warming.
The fact that the vegetation is more dry promotes fire spread, but the authorities attribute the vast majority of fire outputs to human action. The agricultural sector is also the main defendant.
Source: BFM TV
