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- Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has reached 7,900 square kilometers for the year ending July 31, 2018, says the Brazilian space research institute INPE.
- This represents an increase of 14% over last year and 41% of the official goal of deforestation. The final figures will be published next spring.
- This increase was widely expected because of economic and political conditions in Brazil, as well as the US trade war that increased the profitability of Brazilian agricultural products.
- Scientists warn that the ongoing destruction of the Amazon could have disastrous economic consequences in South America.
According to the Brazilian government, deforestation in the world's largest rainforest has reached its highest level in a decade.
The Brazilian National Institute for Space Research INPE released Friday its preliminary annual estimate of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Data shows that approximately 7,900 square kilometers (3050 square miles) of rainforest was cleared between August 1, 2017 and July 31, 2018, an increase of 13.7% from 6,947 square kilometers cleared. a year ago. The loss represents an area 134 times greater than the land mass of Manhattan.
The states of Pará, Mato Grosso and Rondônia accounted for nearly three quarters of deforestation. The three states are important producers of agricultural products. Acre, a state seen as a model for reducing deforestation, saw its losses increase by 84 percent over the previous year.
Deforestation planned increase
The increase in deforestation was widely expected. The surveillance systems of the Brazilian government and Imazon, a Brazilian NGO, show a trend of deforestation on the rise for months. Imazon's deforestation warning system predicted a forest loss in the Amazon, a record for 10 years, which is now confirmed by official data.
The progress of deforestation in Brazil this year is probably related to current political and economic trends. The trade war between US President Donald Trump and China has reduced the competitiveness of US agricultural products, boosting exports of soybeans and beef from Brazil, including the Brazilian Amazon, a major producing region. The weakness of the Brazilian currency also increases the profitability of agribusiness in the country, while Brazilian lawmakers advocate measures to weaken environmental regulations and protect indigenous peoples. President-elect Jair Bolsonaro has sharply criticized environmentalists and pledged to further roll back conservation initiatives across the country.
Increasing deforestation counteracts the long-term trend of declining forest loss rates in the Brazilian Amazon. The annual rate of deforestation in the region increased from 27,772 km 2 in 2004 to 4,571 km in 2012, prompting scientists to support Brazil as a leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
But Brazil has now missed the goal of deforestation that it had set in 2009 for four consecutive years. Deforestation has exceeded the target by 41% compared to the past – the worst result ever.
Scientists warn that the ongoing destruction of the Amazon could have dire economic consequences in Brazil and beyond by destabilizing regional rainfall patterns – especially in the agricultural center of southern South America – and by accelerating greenhouse gas emissions. About one fifth of the Brazilian Amazon has been cleared since the early 1970s, while large tracts beyond this area have been degraded by logging and fires. Brazil accounts for nearly two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest, the largest tropical forest on the planet.
The Brazilian government is expected to release the final figures for the 2017/2018 deforestation year in April or May. As a general rule, the figures are slightly revised upwards compared to the preliminary estimate.
Note: This story was adapted from a previous Mongabay story, containing the language of this story.
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