Despite Military Presence, Amazon Deforestation in June Is Highest in Five Years

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon grew for the 14th consecutive month in June, according to preliminary data published on Friday by the National Space Research Institute (INPE), increasing pressure on the government of Jair Bolsonaro at a time when foreign investors and entrepreneurs are demanding more effective measures against the destruction of the forest.

Despite military action in the region since May to prevent fires and to try to contain the destruction, the Amazon recorded 1,034.4 km² of area under deforestation alert in June, a rise of 10.65 percent, a record for the month since official records began in 2015.

In the first semester of 2020, the Real-Time Deforestation Detection System (DETER) alerts show the destruction of 3,069.57 km² of the Amazon, equivalent to twice the area of the city of São Paulo. The increase is 25 percent greater than that of the same period last year.

The data serve as an indication to the inspection teams about where environmental crimes may be occurring. The figures do not represent the official deforestation rate, which is measured annually by a different system. At the start of the month, the INPE revealed that in June the Amazon recorded the highest number of fire hotspots in the past 13 years.

Amid the rise in deforestation, researchers and environmental activists accuse the government of empowering illegal loggers, landowners and land grabbers by undermining environmental enforcement bodies and advocating increased mining and agribusiness in the Amazon as a means to develop the region’s economy.

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) is calling for the dismissal of Environment Minister Ricardo Salles for the crime of administrative improbity. “Even if no square meter is burned in the current fire season that runs until September – as the vice-president of the Republic, Hamilton Mourão expects by again proposing a ban on burning in the Legal Amazon this year – the greatest damage has already been done,” says WWF-Brazil’s director of Conservation and Rehabilitation, Edegar Rosa.

Pressure from international funds

The pressure from foreign investors and the Brazilian business community prompted the Government to react with an attempt to achieve greater control over deforestation and burning in the Amazon.

Since May, under the command of Vice-President Hamilton Mourão, a Law and Order Guarantee (GLO) operation was authorized with the Armed Forces in the Amazon to prevent fires and try to contain deforestation, hitherto with little success. The GLO, which would expire on Friday, was extended until November, according to a decree published in the Federal Gazette.

In late June, over 30 international investment managers, who mobilize R$4.5 trillion, sent a letter to the Brazilian embassies alerting them to widespread uncertainty over the conditions to invest or offer financial services in Brazil as a result of increased deforestation in the Amazon.

Faced with foreign pressure, the Government scheduled a videoconference meeting with the funds’ representatives last Thursday, led by Vice-President Hamilton Mourão, in charge of the National Council of the Amazon. After the virtual meeting, a new decree was announced, to be published next week, banning any previously authorized burning in the Amazon and Pantanal (swampland) for 120 days.

The Brazilian Vice-President acknowledged the need to fight illegal activities in the Amazon, but, like Bolsonaro, he argues that there is an excessive perception of destruction in the region. “The forest is standing, many say the forest is burning,” he said.

Earlier this month, in a speech at the Mercosur Summit, the Brazilian President complained about foreign “views” that, according to him, are “distorted” and do not reflect the real effort of the government, particularly on issues such as the defense of the Amazon region and the relationship with indigenous peoples.

Between January 1st and June 25th, according to Reuters news agency, the Amazon Environmental Research Institute and the American Woods Hole research center estimated that deforestation and burning in the Amazon released 115 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, about 20 percent more than over the same period last year, which is equivalent to the yearly emissions from 25 million cars.

Source: El Pais