Amazon: Deforestation alerts decrease by 33%
According to data released on Thursday (Jul. 6) by the Brazilian Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, the area under deforestation alerts in the Amazon has fallen by 33 percent in the first half of 2023, following five consecutive years of high levels.
These numbers, collected by the Real-Time Deforestation Detection System (Deter) of the Brazilian Space Research Institute (Inpe), which monitors changes in forest cover, are considered preliminary.
José Paulo Capobianco, the ministry's executive secretary, highlights the importance of this reduction as it counters the upward trend recorded in the second half of 2022 when there was a 54 percent increase in the area under deforestation alert in the Amazon.
Despite June being one of the months with the highest risk of deforestation due to the dry season, this year witnessed a 41 percent drop in the area under alert compared to the same month last year.
"This figure is relevant as we are in a period of lower cloud cover in the Amazon. This means that the data are more accurate compared to rainy periods. Furthermore, it is crucial because it represents a notable decline during a month when deforestation typically increases throughout history," explained Capobianco.
However, this decrease does not guarantee a reduction in the annual balance of areas under deforestation alert. The survey considers data from August 1 of one year to July 31 of the following year, which means the last six months of the previous government are still taken into in the final data set, scheduled to be released in November this year.
"The significance of this number lies in the fact that the efforts to reverse the growth curve have been successful. We have reversed the trend. Deforestation is no longer on the rise," stated the secretary.
