15 Straight Months Of Increasing Forest Destruction In Brazilian Amazon, Worst In 15 Years

[hatrack]

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon climbed higher for the fifteenth straight month, reaching levels not seen since the mid-2000s, according to data released today by Brazil’s national space research institute INPE. The news comes as the region moves into the dry season, when deforestation and forest fires typically accelerate.



INPE’s satellite-based deforestation alert system detected 1,034 square kilometers of forest clearing during June 2020 bringing the twelve-month total to 9,564 sq km, 89% higher than a year ago. The extent of deforestation over the past year is the highest recorded since INPE started releasing monthly numbers in 2007.

The 12-month deforestation rate has risen 96% since President Jair Bolsonaro took office in January 2019.



Under pressure from big companies and the E.U. over rising deforestation and fire risk in the Amazon, the Bolsonaro Administration on Wednesday decreed a 120-day ban on fires in the Amazon. The administration had already deployed the army to the region to try to rein in burning, but fires are already well underway despite it being early in the dry season, according to analysis of satellite data by Amazon Conservation’s MAAP project.

MAAP found there are have been 14 major fires in the Amazon this year through July 2nd. MAAP’s analysis excludes fires in pasture and scrub lands, providing a clearer picture on fires associated with recent deforestation and in existing forest.

EDIT

https://news.mongabay.com/2020/07/deforestation-rate-climbs-higher-as-amazon-moves-into-the-burning-season/

[bluedye33139]

1. And I don't think it can be turned around.

Of course, I was born a pessimist.

But right now, when the world focuses attention on the Amazonian tragedy, right-wing Brazilian politicians use this as evidence that globalists are seizing control of Brazilian sovereignty. And the electorate responds to the nationalist message, to the fear about foreigners and globalists, that wonderful code word.

My pessimism tells me that the situation is going to get worse until Brazilians on their own get control of this. My optimism tells me that Brazil has a wide range of ideological orientations and that there are a ton of Brazilians who want to preserve the Amazon. My hope is that my pessimism is wrong.