Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon falls 36% in first four months of 2023

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell 36 percent in the first four months of 2023, compared to the same period last year, after the loss of 1,203 square kilometers of forest, according to a study by the Institute of Man and Environment of the Amazon (Imazon) released today, Thursday, by the local press.

Despite the reduction of almost a third compared to the last period, the area devastated in the first four months of this year represents the third worst result in efforts to preserve the biome since 2008, added the Brazilian institution.

In the last 16 years, the area degraded in each first four months of the year was higher not only in 2022 but also in 2021, when deforestation increased significantly after the loss of 1,963 square kilometers of forest.

From the analysis of satellite monitoring images, Imazon researchers concluded that in April this year, the drop in deforestation reached 72 percent, going from 1,197 square kilometers in April 2022 to 336 square kilometers in the same month.

“The reduction observed in April is positive; however, the deforested area was still the fourth largest since 2008 for the month,” Imazon highlighted.

Although deforestation in the Amazon was lower in the first four months of this year, in the states of Roraima (north) and Tocantins (north), the area destroyed increased.

The “most critical situation,” according to Imazon, occurred in Roraima, where devastation increased by 73 percent, from 63 square kilometers from January to April 2022, to 107 square kilometers in the same period this year.

Despite the decrease in deforested areas in the last period, Mato Grosso (center-west), Amazonas (northwest), and Pará (north) continue to be the states with the largest logged areas in the Amazon.

From January to April of this year, Mato Grosso devastated 400 square kilometers of forest, Amazonas 272 square kilometers, and Pará 258 square kilometers, representing 33, 23, and 21 percent of the region’s total, respectively.

These states were responsible for 77 percent of the forests destroyed in the first four months of this year, stressed Imazon.

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