Brazil has said that deforestation in the Amazon is down by almost 34% in the first half of 2023 when compared to the same period last year.
Government data released yesterday (Thursday, July 6) also shows that there was a 41% drop in deforestation in the Amazon last month on the June 2022 figure.
Brazil’s President Lula da Silva has pledged to end deforestation by 2030.
The left-wing politician who came to power at the start of this year has made the issue a central part of his government’s environmental policy.
Brazil
The data states that 2,649km2 of rainforest was lost in the first six months of this year, down from 3,988km2 in the same period of 2022 when former President Jair Bolsonaro was in office.
Environment Minister Marina Silva said that the reduction in deforestation in the Amazon has come as a result of control actions and measures, including increased inspections.
The minister noted that there had been a “worrying upward trend” in burning in the rainforest in June but said that work was underway with local governments to reverse this.
The World Resources Institute (WRI) said that the loss of global tropical forest in 2022 totaled 4.1 million hectares.
This is the equivalent to losing 11 football fields of forest per minute. This forest loss produced 2.7Gts of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Brazil remains the country with the most tropical forest loss. In 2022 it accounted for 43% of the global total.
Its 1.8 million hectares lost resulted in 1.2Gt of CO2 emissions.
The analysis stated that non fire-related losses in Brazil are most often due to deforestation.
The issue of deforestation has been among the hurdles facing the controversial EU-Mercosur trade agreement.
Earlier this year, the EU sent a letter to the Mercosur countries, including Brazil, seeking more commitments on sustainability and climate change.
However, the Brazilian presiden said that he was concerned by the “additional instrument” which would enhance Brazil’s obligations under the proposed trade deal.