Deforestation in the Amazon
Researchers at the Amazon Institute of Man and Environment (Imazon) concluded that deforestation in the Amazon has increased 40% in the last 12 months
Deforestation has hit the heart of the Amazon: the green belt that crosses the states of Acre, northern Mato Grosso, southern Amazonas, part of Rondônia and goes west of Pará.
It was in this region, through which three federal highways pass, that most of the cut was concentrated.
“An area of deforestation containment, where protected areas for sustainable use of forest products must be concentrated, and deforestation is in line with this existing macro-planning for the region,” says Carlos Nunes, an Imazon researcher.
Over the past 12 months, the Amazon Rainforest has lost nearly 4,000 square kilometers of native forest, an area that is 13 times the size of Belo Horizonte.
According to Imazon, deforestation increased by 39% over the previous period. The destruction was greatest in private or non-destined areas, settlements and conservation units.
Still according to Imazon, 83% of the logging has become pasture and agriculture.
Imazon also warns of another type of deforestation, less visible, but growing in the Amazon: forest degradation. It is caused by small burns and selective logging. This stage, which precedes the total destruction of the area, increased by 220% over the same period.
The election year is named by Imazon as one of the main causes of increased forest destruction. The result, according to the researchers, is that the rate of felling in the Amazon has risen again after a 20% reduction in 2017.
“Historically, we have observed that during these election periods, there is a reduction in this command and control work, it is a possible, plausible explanation for this reduction. You have less this pressure behavior and avoid this wear and tear of the government itself, ”explains Carlos.
Environment Minister Edson Duarte disputes Imazon's figures.
