Deforestation alerts released today by the monthly DETER-B data series of the national space research institute (Inpe) registered the highest rate of deforestation for the month of April in recorded history, despite the data missing the numbers for April 30.[1] At least 1,013 km² (391.1m²) of rainforest was cleared, larger than the area of Berlin, a 74.6% increase compared to the same period last year which covered 580 km² (223.9 m²). The scale of deforestation for April covers 3000 to 5000 hectares of cleared rainforest.
“The continued deforestation highs are a direct result of President Bolsonaro’s sabotage of environmental law enforcement in Brazil,” says André Freitas, Forest Campaign Director for Greenpeace Brazil, “The individuals perpetuating illegal deforestation have impunity as only 2% of [the] deforestation alerts have been investigated by authorities in recent years.”
The stakes for the unraveling crisis in the Brazilian Amazon are high considering the recent Global Forest Watch report which found that over 40% of the world’s total tropical forest loss for 2021 occurred in Brazil’s Amazon.[2] “Unfortunately the agribusiness lobby is trying to reward illegal deforestation as it advances laws that would reward land grabbing, open Indigenous Peoples’ lands for mining, and dismantle environmental licensing requirements,” Freitas continued.
ENDS
[1] DETER-B data for the last day of the month of April will be reported by INPE in the coming week. http://terrabrasilis.dpi.inpe.br/app/dashboard/alerts/legal/amazon/aggregated/
[2] 2021 Tree cover loss data reported by the Global Forest Watch and World Resources Institute, April 2022 https://research.wri.org/gfr/latest-analysis-deforestation-trends
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