Brazil's Amazon deforestation falls to lowest in 13 years

Plummeting deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon, hurricane-predicting sharks and a courtroom reckoning on the cards for tech giants, plus more

Plummeting deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon, hurricane-predicting sharks and a courtroom reckoning on the cards for tech giants, plus more

Deforestation alerts in the Brazilian Amazon have fallen to their lowest level in 13 years, according to new satellite data. INPE, Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, detected alerts covering 2,874 sq km (1,110 square miles) in the 12 months to 31 July this year. That’s down by more than a third compared with the previous 12 months, and 55.6% below the average for the last decade. The figures come from Brazil’s DETER satellite monitoring system, which provides rapid alerts about areas where forest loss is taking place. The country’s definitive annual deforestation figures, calculated using a separate system called PRODES, are due later in the year. If that data follows the same trend, Brazil could record its lowest annual Amazon deforestation rate since monitoring began in 1988. The news follows determined efforts by Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to crack down on illegal rainforest clearance through improved enforcement and monitoring. Lula’s government has also moved to protect swathes of Indigenous lands, seen as a key measure for tackling illegal mining and logging. Brazil is aiming for zero deforestation by 2030, a target that campaigners increasingly believe is within reach. Marcio Astrini, executive secretary of Brazil’s Observatório do Clima, a coalition of climate action stakeholders, said: “The numbers presented today are historic, the result of serious environmental protection policies, and prove that it is entirely possible to fulfill the commitment made by the country to zero and reverse deforestation by 2030.” Image: rahimajan

Deforestation alerts in the Brazilian Amazon have fallen to their lowest level in 13 years, according to new satellite data.

INPE, Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, detected alerts covering 2,874 sq km (1,110 square miles) in the 12 months to 31 July this year.

That’s down by more than a third compared with the previous 12 months, and 55.6% below the average for the last decade.

The figures come from Brazil’s DETER satellite monitoring system, which provides rapid alerts about areas where forest loss is taking place. The country’s definitive annual deforestation figures, calculated using a separate system called PRODES, are due later in the year.

If that data follows the same trend, Brazil could record its lowest annual Amazon deforestation rate since monitoring began in 1988.

The news follows determined efforts by Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to crack down on illegal rainforest clearance through improved enforcement and monitoring.

Lula’s government has also moved to protect swathes of Indigenous lands, seen as a key measure for tackling illegal mining and logging.

Brazil is aiming for zero deforestation by 2030, a target that campaigners increasingly believe is within reach.

Marcio Astrini, executive secretary of Brazil’s Observatório do Clima, a coalition of climate action stakeholders, said: “The numbers presented today are historic, the result of serious environmental protection policies, and prove that it is entirely possible to fulfill the commitment made by the country to zero and reverse deforestation by 2030.”