Good morning! Today, the numbers behind the astonishing boom in cattle ranching in Brazil’s Amazon. Growth forecasts are up, but there is a fear that sustained improvement is just a mirage. Brazilian universities firmly remain among the best in Latin America.
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Cattle herd growth outpaces population in the Amazon
Data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics reveal that the eight states in the “Legal Amazon” (an area under special environmental protection rules) are adding cattle heads at a faster pace than their population is growing.
By the numbers. Since 1985, forest coverage in the Amazon has fallen by over 10 percent, while the area for cattle ranching has increased by a whopping 285 percent.
Acre. No state has seen a bigger increase in cattle-head numbers than Acre, where 80 percent of forests remain preserved. At the beginning of the year, there were four times more cattle than residents in Acre.
- Last year, Acre ranked third in Amazon deforestation numbers, and forest degradation is at its highest in 18 years.