Brazil’s Amazon Witnessed Record Deforestation

Data from satellites show record destruction of the rainforest for the month of February, while, the new government tries to undo the damage.

The Amazon rainforest in Brazil experienced the highest level of deforestation on record in February 2023. The satellites show an increase of 62 percent in deforestation as compared to February 2022, that is, around 322 sq. km of the destruction of native vegetation in the rainforest.

The Amazon rainforest is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth. It plays a huge role in influencing and impacting the global carbon cycle and climate change. With the forest facing deforestation, more and more species are at risk.

Damage

In February 2022, 199 square kilometers of forest were destroyed. The destruction of the rainforest has been recorded by the government with the Amazonian Deforestation Detection System. Legal in Real Time (Deter) since February 2015.

This highlighted the scale of the challenge the newly administered government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been facing as it has been trying to undo the environmental damage caused under former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Lula took on the office on January 1 this year and has pledged to bring an end to illegal logging, which skyrocketed to a 15-year high during the years of Bolsonaro.

Deforestation escalated by 60 percent during the four years (2019-2022) of Jair Bolsonaro’s government. Hence, one of his main commitments of Lula during his campaign for the presidency was the recovery of the Brazilian Amazon. He repeated his promise after being elected president of Brazil on January 3.

Amazon Restoration Measures

A sharp drop in deforestation has been observed during Lula’s first term in office, as the environment ministry is again being led by the environmentalist Marina Silva.

The government has recreated a civil society council on the environment and has also reactivated the Amazonian Fund, which has been financed by Norway and Germany and is considered a key tool for its preservation. Both of these were abandoned under the government of Bolsonaro.

Lula has confirmed that along with Norway and Germany, the United States will also join the Amazonian fund.

A group of 17 ministers has been established to define strategies that would help in the preservation of the rainforest and its protection against the illegal extraction of precious metals by the miners.

The government has been strict against illegal mining after the health crisis in the Yanomami reserves, which resulted from the invasion of nearly 20,000 miners who are still expelled by the indigenous authorities from the territories.

Silva has also updated a deforestation prevention and control plan that has served as the backbone for the success of her policies for nearly two decades.

Rômulo Batista, a Greenpeace Brazil spokesperson, said that in addition to the measures and steps being taken, innovation is also necessary since Amazon is not the same as it was 10, or 20 years ago.

The environmental groups have considered giving the new government a pass for the awaited figures of deforestation from the dry-season months, starting around July, which are considered the peak deforestation season.

The Crisis and Crimes

An explosion in the rate of crime and violence was observed under the previous government as the country saw the deaths of British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira. The two were killed during a reporting trip to the Amazon in June 2022.

According to Silva, the area experiences heavy rains during February, which can make it difficult for the loggers to work in the Amazon forest, but still, the deforestation data was unusually high. She considers this act of deforestation during heavy rains as an act of revenge against the actions being taken for the restoration of the Amazon.

Batista also added that since the country has just gotten away from the government that supported deforestation, illegal logging will continue until control and inspection have reached the entire territory.

Frederico Machado, of the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) Brazil office, said that reversing the damage of an anti-environmental policy in a short amount of time is difficult. He also added that a reduction in deforestation will only take place if the institutions responsible for policing it are consistently strengthened.