The Ministry of the Environment stated, in a note published this Friday (19), that the deforestation registered in the Amazon between August 2020 and July 2021 does not reflect the federal government’s recent preservation actions.
The note, signed by Minister Joaquim Leite, states that there was a reversal of deforestation accumulated in the periods from July to October this year, with a total of 4,277.32 km². In the same period of 2020, the accumulated amount was 4,811.13 km², which represents a drop of 11%, according to the folder.
According to the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), deforestation in the Amazon reached 13,235 square kilometers between August 1, 2020 and July 31, 2021, up 21.97% compared to last year.
The data collected by the Project for Monitoring Deforestation in the Legal Amazon by Satellite (Prodes) were released in a document on the federal government’s website on Thursday (18th). On the same day, Leite granted an interview to defend the government’s actions.
The note released by the ministry states that the entry of 700 members of the National Force into 23 priority municipalities in the Amazon, in addition to an integrated action with the Ministries of Environment, Justice and Public Security and other federal government agencies, inhibited illegal deforestation in these regions.
The operation “Guardians of the Biome” was also highlighted. According to the government, more than 8,500 men were used to fight fires in the Cerrado, Pantanal and Amazon biomes and faced more than 16,000 forest fires.
The government also released a comparison between deforestation in 2020 and that of 2021, see the table below:
Reference: CNN Brasil
