Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon hits record in January

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon hit a new record for January in just the first three weeks of the year, according to official data released on Wednesday, an alarming sign of the destruction of the world’s largest rainforest.

About 360 km2 of forest were destroyed between January 1 and January 21, according to preliminary data published by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).

Although the registry stops on January 21, the area deforested until that day was already higher than any full January since 2015, when INPE launched the periodic monitoring program called DETER.

The deforestation of the Amazon in January of last year was 83 km2, four times less than what was recorded in the first three weeks of 2022.

Environmental experts said the data could indicate a heightened risk that 2022 could become another devastating year for the Brazilian Amazon, where deforestation has surged since far-right President Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019.

“Having such a high figure in January, in the middle of the rainy season, when deforestation is usually less significant, is extremely worrying.“, He said Claudio Angelomember of the NGO Climate Observatory.

In November, INPE had already announced that deforestation in the world’s largest tropical forest had spread to 13,235 km2 between August 2020 and July 2021, an unprecedented figure in 15 years.

It was the third consecutive annual increase since the arrival to power of Bolsonaro, who is the target of international criticism for having weakened the forest protection policy and for having promoted mining and agricultural exploitation in protected areas.

“We have to wait for the next few months to see what the trend will be for this year, but it is already a very bad sign.Angelo added.

The Climate Observatory revealed this Tuesday that Ibama, the main official environmental monitoring agency, had spent just 41% of its budget in 2021.