Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon growing 32% in July compared to June, with 1,486 kilometers squares of devastated native vegetationthe largest loss of forest recorded since January of this year, according to the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
Although deforestation in July remained practically stable with that of the same month last year (-0.7%), the area lost between August 2021 and July this year, the reference period for the annual measurement of devastation in Brazil, was in 8,590 square kilometers.
Despite being an estimate, the number already shows that the The devastation of the Amazon will be in the average of the last three yearsalthough the official data will be known until November, when a more sophisticated system (Prodes) will release the official annual rate.
The numbers set off alarm bells again for environmentalists since they were destroyed last year. 8,780 square kilometers vegetation, according to the Deter satellite system, while Prodes calculated that the destruction of the forest was 12,415 square kilometers.
Between January and July, some 5,470 square kilometers were (devastated), which shows that deforestation has stabilized at very high rates in this biome in recent years,” said Mari Napolitano, scientific manager of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). in Brazil. . .
THE The devastation of the Brazilian Amazon has grown considerably in the last four yearsa fact that environmentalists attribute to the lack of control and oversight by the government of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaroto curb illegal mining and the illegal trade in timber or fishing.
Bolsonaro defends the exploitation of the natural resources of the Amazon, including in indigenous reservations where it is prohibited by lawand since he came to power in 2019, the rates of devastation in the jungle have increased considerably.
In 2018, a year before the leader took office, they were razed to the ground. 7,536 kilometers jungle, 34% less than in 2019, 44% less than in 2020 Y practically half of what was registered in 2021 (13,038 square kilometers).
The largest tropical forest on the planet is concentrated 72% mining in Brazil, mostly illegal, and 99% of the wood that the country sells is illegally extracted from this region.
“It’s a organized scheme, sponsored by large landowners and land grabbers (people who appropriate public lands) who feel protected by the thaw of environmental protection policies and the fight against deforestation that have taken place in recent years”, concluded in a note the spokesman for the organization Greenpeace, Rómulo Cambric.
Source: Observadora
