Amazon deforestation down by more than one-fifth in 12-month period

Deforestation in the Amazon fell by 22.3 percent in the 12-month period ending July 2023, according to satellite data released Thursday by the National Institute of Space Research (Inpe).

Inpe operates two satellite programs that monitor deforestation, called Prodes and Deter. Prodes produces annual deforestation data with higher-quality imagery, while Deter provides daily alerts to support environmental and police agencies on the ground. Prodes figures are released in the second half of the year.

The result, according to the federal government, meant avoiding the emission of 133 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) into the atmosphere, or about 7.5 percent of Brazil’s emissions in 2020, the latest official data available.

The 12-month period includes the last five months of the Jair Bolsonaro administration (2019-2022) and the first seven months of the current administration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.  

In a statement, the Environment Ministry said the drop in deforestation was “the result of the intensification of command and control actions, with emphasis on the 104% increase, in the same period, in violation notices issued by [federal environmental agency] Ibama for violations against flora in the Amazon. Seizures of [machinery] increased by 61%, [land] embargoes by 31%, and destruction of equipment by 41%.”

Environmental embargoes issued by Ibama are used to stop environmental damage and can restrict land use or impose fines. Ibama agents are also sometimes authorized to destroy machinery used in deforestation. Jair Bolsonaro’s government famously conducted a year-long operation in the Amazon in which Ibama agents were prevented by the military from destroying such equipment. However, a report on the operation published in April 2021 includes machinery and equipment destroyed by law enforcement.

In a press conference, Environment Minister Marina Silva emphasized that the reduction in the annual deforestation rate would be even greater without the approximately 6,000 square kilometers of forest lost in the final months of the Bolsonaro administration. “This [reduction] is a big deal,” she argued. “Behind it is President Lula’s political decision to reach zero deforestation [by 2030].”

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