Zoals gevreesd gaat het hard met de vernietiging van het Amazonewoud: de ontbossing 

is er met 9,5% toegenomen tussen augustus 2019 en juli 2020. Dat meldt de Braziliaanse overheid op basis van satellietbeelden. Op één jaar tijd ging 11.088 km² regenwoud onherroepelijk verloren, het equivalent van 626 miljoen bomen.

Greenpeace wijst op de rol van de Braziliaanse regering, die de ernst van de situatie ontkent en zelfs de aanval op ngo’s die actief zijn in het Amazonewoud heeft ingezet. 

“Het beleid van president Bolsonaro schaadt het milieu en het klimaat, maar ook Braziliës reputatie in de wereld. Investeerders, banken, multinationals en staatshoofden hebben er al mee gedreigd hun investeringen in Brazilië stop te zetten omdat ze niets te maken willen hebben met zulke grootschalige verwoesting van unieke natuur. Ondanks de barslechte cijfers en de druk van verschillende stakeholders heeft de regering nog altijd geen noemenswaardig plan op tafel gelegd om de ontbossing aan te pakken”, reageert Cristiane Mazzetti van Greenpeace Brazilië.   


Het volledige persbericht (in het Engels):

Deforestation rate in the Amazon is the highest since 2008

São Paulo, 30 November 2020 – Deforestation in the Amazon increased by 9,5% between August 2019 and July 2020, according to the Brazilian official annual deforestation monitoring system PRODES[1]. Released today by INPE (Brazil’s National Space Research Institute), the rate is the highest since 2008 and represents the destruction of 11,088 km² of the biome, the equivalent to 626 million fallen trees. 

“This was already expected. Instead of acting to prevent the increase in deforestation, the federal government has been denying the reality, dismantling the agencies, restraining and attacking NGOs work. Because of the government’s anti-environmental policies, deforestation in Brazil is almost three times higher than the target for 2020 set by the country’s National Policy on Climate Change[2]”, says Cristiane Mazzetti, Amazon campaigner at Greenpeace Brazil.

According to PRODES, the state of Pará was the most deforested in the Brazilian Amazon, followed by Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Rondônia. In Pará, the destruction advanced over protected areas, Indigenous lands and public lands. None of these areas were included in the field trip organized by the Brazilian government to show the Amazon to Ambassadors early this month. Meanwhile, Bolsonaro’s government has proposed a 35% reduction in the budget for environmental protection for 2021 and discusses repressing the activities of non-governmental organizations in the Amazon.

“Bolsonaro’s actions are not only damaging the environment but also Brazil’s reputation internationally. Investors, banks, global companies and leaders have already signaled their concerns and threatened to pull out their investments from Brazil as they do not want to be associated with the environmental crimes and widespread destruction taking place in the country. Despite the negative numbers and pressure coming from different stakeholders, the government has not presented any meaningful plans to reduce deforestation”, says Mazzetti.

Greenpeace demands companies and governments to stop making business with forest destroyers, drastically reduce the production and consumption of meat and dairy, which are the largest source of deforestation in Brazil, and align trade to support resilient economies that put nature and people first.

ENDS

Photos and videos of Amazon deforestation available here.

Notes

1. Deforestation data released by PRODES is available here.

2. Brazil’s deforestation target set by National Policy on Climate Change is available here (in Portuguese).