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Amazon Deforestation Hits 15-Year High


RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil’s commitment this month to end illegal deforestation in eight years received much praise But this week’s official report cast doubt on that commitment after showing that the rate of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest is at its worst in 15 years.

At the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, Brazil intends to reverse its reputation as an environmental criminal under President Jair Bolsonaro, Joined more than 100 countries It promises to end deforestation. Under the plan, Brazil said it would reduce deforestation in the Amazon by 15 percent by next year.

But the report Published on Thursday Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, or Inpe, showed that the world’s largest rainforest lost an astonishing 5,100 square miles of tree cover from August 2020 to July 2021.

Satellite data showed that deforestation increased by about 22 percent from the previous year. It was also the first record in the country to report that deforestation rates have increased for the fourth consecutive year. Since Mr Bolsonaro became president in 2019, the country has lost a larger area of ​​forest than Belgium.

“This is not surprising,” said Daniel Azeredo, a federal prosecutor specializing in environmental crimes. “The result of shattering Brazil’s environmental policy is deforestation.”

Adding to questions about whether Brazil will meet these goals is the report, which suggests that the right-wing government had prior knowledge, four days before the October 27 climate summit known as COP26 began. But at a news conference late Thursday, environment minister Joaquim Leite denied having any knowledge of the numbers during the climate summit where he led the Brazilian delegation.

“Perhaps it was a precautionary measure that Inpe delayed publishing this data,” he told reporters. “The information I have is that it was released today and this number is unacceptable.”

Acioli de Olivo, vice president of the association that represents space researchers working for the federal government, said his team is investigating the timing of the report’s release. He said the report was ready in mid-October and had been uploaded to a government platform accessible to officials before the climate conference began.

“It seems like a joke to say they didn’t know about the report,” he said.

Izabella Teixeira, a former environment minister in the left-wing government, said the incident not only reflected the incompetence of the current administration, but that her summit promises were purely for damage control.

“Brazil can only deliver on its commitments when this government resigns,” he said. “Our patience has completely run out. There is no dialogue to be had.”

Mr Bolsonaro took office by promising to develop rather than protect the Amazon region, and critics believe this severely undermines the country’s ability to attract investment and negotiate favorable economic deals on the international stage.

Running for a second term in an election set for next year, Mr. Bolsonaro’s policies that undermine environmental protection institutions and encourage miners and farmers to invade the Amazon need to be in sharp focus. A sharp economic crisis has soared unemployment rates and crushed approval ratings in recent months.

The new data was also published as follows: European union and United States of America They are discussing laws that would prevent the importation of goods linked to deforestation. If these laws are enacted under a Brazilian government that cannot control environmental abuses, it could seriously affect the local agribusiness, which is the heart of the country’s economy.

But if there is political will, Brazil has the means to deliver on its commitments, said Marcio Astrini, head of the Climate Observatory, an environmental protection organization in Brazil. Between 2004 and 2012, deforestation rates dropped 80 percent.

“This is an eight-year job, that would be a herculean job,” he said. “But we’ve done it before.”



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