The area under alert for deforestation in the Amazon suffered a drop of 33.6% in the first six months of 2023, compared to the same period last year. Deforestation in the Cerrado increased by 21%.
The data are from Deter, a real-time deforestation detection system using satellite, from the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe). The summary for the first half of 2023 was presented by the Ministry of the Environment this Thursday (6).
In the Amazon, compared to June 2022, there was a 41% drop in the area under deforestation alert in June this year. In the first six months of 2023, 2,649 km² of deforested area were identified. The index had already been decreasing since January.
For the portfolio, the increase in deforestation in recent years has been reversed. “We reached the first fundamental objective, which was to reverse the upward trend and today we clearly have a downward trend, which will show its strength to reduce the rate in July”, explained the Executive Secretary for the Environment, João Capobianco .
The June data are more reliable than the other months because the amount of clouds is lower, due to the drought, and the satellite is able to capture the deforested areas with greater accuracy, explained Capobianco. The trend is that, in July, the number is smaller.
For the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva, the drop in deforestation rates in the Amazon is due to “a set of command and control actions” ranging from increased inspection to coordinated action with the states. “It is a dissuasion process that has been carried out showing that there will be no connivance with criminality”, said the head of the folder.
In the Cerrado, when compared to the same month last year, the deforested area fell by 14.6% in June 2023. However, the combined data for the first half — 2,208 km² of deforested area — show an increase of 21 % compared to the average of recent years.
For the ministry, the need for actions aimed at the Cerrado has become as urgent as it is for the Amazon. In July, the Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Cerrado (PPCerrado) is expected to be launched, similar to the PPCDam — referring to the Legal Amazon.
Initiatives are packages of measures to enhance environmental protection policies. The PPCDam was relaunched on June 5 by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and the Minister, but was created during the PT’s first government.
Marina considers the result of deforestation in the Cerrado to be positive given the context. “Let’s not forget that last month we recorded a worrying upward trend and now, with articulation and with the government of the states that most deforest the cerrado, we have already identified a 14% drop and a sign of joint work in the same direction. ”, said the minister.
At the end of the press conference, Marina also made reference to previous governments and conflicts with the portfolio. “We have transparency again, nobody is fighting with the satellite data, hiding the satellite, wanting to fire the president of Inpe if the data is not correct. What we are doing is transparently showing what is happening in the territory.”
Deter produces a rapid survey of alerts of evidence of changes in vegetation cover in the Amazon and Cerrado. Although it does not accurately measure the deforested areas, it presents trends in the evolution of deforestation. The exact data are collected annually by Prodes, also an initiative of INPE.
Source: CNN Brasil
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