After four years of increasing destruction in the brazilian amazonthe deforestation fell 33.6% during the first six months of the president’s term Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvaaccording to government satellite data released Thursday.
From January to June, the rainforest had alerts for possible deforestation covering 2,650 square kilometers (1,023 square miles), compared with 4,000 square kilometers in the same period last year, during the Jair Bolsonaro government. This year’s data includes a 41% drop in June alertsthe beginning of the dry season, which is when deforestation tends to increase.
“The objective of reversing the growth curve was achieved. That is a fact: we reversed the curve, deforestation is not increasing”, said João Paulo Capobianco, executive secretary of the Ministry of the Environment, during a presentation in Brasilia.
Capobianco noted that full-year results will depend on a few difficult months ahead. Still, the data is an encouraging sign for Lula, who campaigned last year on promises to curb illegal logging and reverse the environmental devastation of Bolsonaro’s rule.
The right-wing former president weakened environmental authorities, while his insistence on developing the Amazon region resonated with land grabbers and farmers who have long been aggrieved by environmental laws. With this they were emboldened and deforestation in the Amazon increased to its highest figure in 15 years.
The deforestation data released Thursday comes from a system called Deter, managed by the National Institute for Space Research, a federal agency.
It is an initiative that focuses mainly on detecting deforestation in real time. The most accurate deforestation estimates come from another system called Prodes, whose data is published annually.
“Simply put, we are prioritizing environmental law enforcement”, said Jair Schmitt, head of environmental protection at Ibama, Brazil’s federal environmental agency.
However, continued staff shortages mean the task has not been easy, he said. Many Ibama officials retired and were not replaced during the Bolsonaro government, reflecting the former president’s efforts to weaken environmental authorities.
Lula has promised to restore the workforce, but the number of Ibama agents remains the lowest in 24 years. The country has barely 700 agents, of which only 150 are available for deployment, throughout its territory.
Ibama has also strengthened remote surveillance, in which deforestation is detected through satellite images, according to Schmitt.
By cross-references with land records, in many cases it is possible to identify the owner of the area, which leads to embargoes that restrict access to financial loansamong other sanctions.
Another strategy has been to seize thousands of illegally bred cattle within the embargoed areas. The measure is effective because it inflicts immediate punishment, unlike fines that are rarely paid in Brazil due to the slow appeal process, Schmitt said.
Rodrigo Agostinho, head of Ibama, pointed out in the presentation on Thursday that the value of the fines imposed in the first half of the year increased 167% from the 2019-2022 averageand the agency seized 2,086 areas, that is, an increase of 111%.
“We started the year with many difficulties due to everything we inherited, reorganizing all the inspection and environmental protection teams, reactivating the technological systems”said Augustinho.
The improvement in deforestation data also reflects the change in discourse from the top, Schmitt noted. While Bolsonaro openly criticized Ibama and defended the legalization of deforested areas, Lula has said that she will rebuild surveillance and promised to expel invaders from protected areas.
Experts point out that just the expectation that an invaded area will eventually become regular has been one of the main drivers of deforestation.
However, it may be premature to celebrate the change in the deforestation trend. According to satellite monitoring, there were 3,075 fires in the Amazon in June alone, the most since 2007.
The increase is due to the clearing of deforested areas in the second half of 2022, Schmitt said. In the Amazon, most fires are caused by man and occur after cutting down a jungle area.
Given the imminent arrival of El Niño, which usually brings less rain and higher temperatures to the Amazon, Ibama has doubled its budget for fighting forest fires and increased by 17% the range of your fire squads for the peak period, which typically runs from July to October. Approximately half of the 2,117 temporary firefighters are from indigenous peoples.
The Amazon rainforest covers an area twice the size of India, and sequesters enormous amounts of carbon, serving as a crucial barrier against climate change. Two thirds of its surface are in Brazilian territory.
Lula will chair a summit in Belém next month that will bring together heads of state from all Amazonian nations to discuss ways of effective cooperation in the complicated region.
Lula has promised to end net deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by 2030. His four-year term, his third presidential term, ends in 2028.
To achieve this, law enforcement alone will not be enough, says Adevaldo Dias, a rubber tapper leader who chairs the Chico Mendes Memorial, a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to non-indigenous traditional communities in the Amazon. .
“It is necessary to invest in sustainable production chains under community management, such as the controlled fishing of pirarucu (or arapaima), Brazil nuts, vegetable oils and acai”said “This will help revitalize and expand these chains, generating a decent income for those involved in conservation work within their territories.”
Agostinho also highlighted his agency’s efforts within indigenous territories, especially Yanomami land, which was invaded by thousands of clandestine gold miners during the Bolsonaro government.
Their activities polluted the waterways and caused disease to the local population, and the Lula government has spent months expelling most of the miners. However, some remain in the area and work at night to avoid being caught, Agostinho said.
“So far we are very happy with the result”he commented. “We know that the fight is not over; We will continue to do this work.”
Source: AP
Source: Gestion
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