Amazon: highest deforestation in fifteen years

Deforestation in the Amazon hit a new record in 2022.

According to a report by the Amazon Human and Environment Institute (Imazon) released on Wednesday (18th), the forest’s vegetation cover has decreased by 10,573 km², the equivalent of nearly 3,000 soccer fields.

According to satellite monitoring, 2022 had the highest level of deforestation since 2008, when Imazon began monitoring the Amazon forest.

In the last 4 years, according to Amazon, the forest loss in the Amazon region was 35,193 km². The area exceeds that of states such as Sergipe (21,000 km²) and Alagoas (27,000 km²).

The period falls within the tenure of former President Jair Messias Bolsonaro, who used to discredit data on deforestation.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government has promised to prioritize the issue. The Environment Minister Marina Silva spoke about the preservation of the forest.

One of the first actions was the release of the Amazon fund, which relies on donations from Germany and Norway to be used for environmental protection.

“We hope this was the last deforestation record reported by our satellite monitoring system, as the new government has promised to prioritize protecting the Amazon” Imazon researcher Bianca Santos said in the material released Wednesday (18th).

The institute pointed to the spike in deforestation in December. 287 km² of forest were cut down this month, an increase of 150% compared to the same month in 2021 (140 km²), making it the worst last month of the year in the entire historical series.

“The last month of the year saw an unbridled scramble for deforestation as the floodgates opened up to ranching, land speculation, illegal mining and logging in tribal lands and wildlife sanctuaries. This shows the magnitude of the challenge facing the new government,” said Carlos Souza Jr, Imazon Surveillance Coordinator.

Around 80% of the area deforested in 2022 is in the area of responsibility of the federal government (8,443 km²). 11% of the destroyed area falls under the jurisdiction of the states (1,130 km²).

According to the report, Pará is the state with the most deforestation in 2022 (3,089 km²), followed by Amazonas (2,270 km²) and Mato Grosso (1,228 km²).