NASA could help Brazil monitor Amazon deforestation

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday hosted NASA administrator Bill Nelson and U.S. Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley at the presidential palace.

According to a statement from the Brazilian government, Mr. Nelson spoke of the possibility of supporting Brazil’s fight against deforestation with the help of new aircraft capable of capturing precise photographs of fires, soil erosion, and sediment deposits in the ocean along the Amazon River.

Science and Technology Minister Luciana Santos told a press conference that the “focus” of the conversation was on the Amazon rainforest. Mr. Nelson will also visit this week the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), headquartered in the city of São José dos Campos in São Paulo state, where he will discuss proposals for new ways to detect deforestation.

The Inpe currently runs two satellite programs that monitor deforestation, named Prodes and Deter. Prodes generates annual deforestation data with higher-quality images, while Deter delivers daily alerts to support environmental and police agencies on the ground.

Since Lula’s inauguration on January 1, several high-level U.S. officials have visited Brazil, including U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols, and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland.

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