Brazil has registered a year-over-year reduction of 30.6% in Amazon deforestation, the government said, dropping the rate to nearly a decade’s low in this major environment step. According to the Brazilian space agency INPE, this figure stands at 6,288 square kilometers, which is the same as 2,427 square miles, since August 2023. This is the lowest annual rate since 2014 and reflects an influence of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s policies on forest preservation.
President Lula, who took office in early 2023, has been emphasizing decreasing deforestation-a sharp departure from former president Jair Bolsonaro, whose administration saw forest clearance increase by 75% when compared to the average of the previous decade. Renewed and restated commitment: Lula’s administration renewed a commitment toward the eradication of illegal deforestation by 2030, consistent with the international climate agenda and sustainable development as a national priority.
Environment Minister Marina Silva attributed the achievement to a “considerable decrease” and expressed its importance in light of the performance that Brazil will be showcasing at the COP29 climate conference, scheduled for Baku, Azerbaijan. “This is an important step toward our carbon-emission-reduction strategy and towards our protection of biodiversity,” Silva said.
The Amazon rainforest, which already encompasses almost 40% of South America, has lost a quarter of its area in the last hundred years due to agricultural expansion, cattle ranching, logging, mining, and urbanization. Continuing such trends, scientists say, may make the Amazon shift from being a vital carbon sink to an emitter of carbon, thereby amplifying worldwide climatic effects.
Deforestation cuts have also been falling since the Amazon’s growth spurt began: 25.7%, saving 8,174 square kilometers of open space from being cleared this year.
That means Lula’s administration is facing powerful vested interests in agriculture and other forms of development, too. However, some see the recent decline as an indication that his team will meet its commitments. This is a big positive on the environmental front in an important region.