Brazil’s May deforestation alerts reach highest level since 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian Amazon lost 1,180 square kilometers of forest in May, the largest devastated area for that period since 2016, when the historical series began to be measured, according to deforestation alerts released this Friday.

According to monthly data captured by the Real-Time Legal Amazon Deforestation Detection System (Deter) and disclosed by the National Institute of Spatial Research (INPE), deforestation alerts increased by 41% in May compared to the same month in 2020.

The methodology used in Deter is based on satellite images and is used by INPE to provide early warnings about areas being deforested in the Amazon.

May is the third consecutive monthly record registered this year. In April, the Brazilian Amazon lost 580.55 kilometers, while in March, 367.6 kilometers of forest were devastated.

Likewise, in the first five months of this year, there were more than 2,336 km2 of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, representing an increase of 14.6% in relation to the same period in 2020.

The Climate Observatory, a network that brings together fifty NGOs, stressed that the numbers are worrying since May marks the beginning of the dry season in the Amazon, when the devastation intensifies in much of the region.

During the last Climate Summit, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro pledged to eliminate illegal deforestation in Brazil by 2030.

However, since the far-right leader came to power on January 1, 2019, the devastation of the Amazon rainforest has been one of the worst in Brazil’s history. Environmental organizations have harshly criticized his environmental policies.

The president defends the exploitation of the Amazon’s natural resources, even in indigenous reserves, and has relaxed the control of activities that directly attack the environment, such as mining and the timber trade, mostly practiced illegally in that region.

Brazil’s Minister of the Environment, Ricardo Salles, is under investigation for allegedly favoring illegal timber trafficking by obstructing enforcement by public officials.

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