Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon decreased by 66 percent

When President Lula took office at the beginning of the year, he announced that he would promote environmental and climate protection.

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon decreased by 66 percent in August compared to the same month last year. Last month, there were indications of deforestation in 563 square kilometers of rainforest, Brasilia’s environment ministry announced Tuesday evening (local time), citing preliminary data from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). And in August 2022, its area was 1,661 square kilometres.

From January to August, deforestation decreased by 48 percent compared to the same period last year. When he took office at the beginning of the year, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced that he intended to strengthen environmental and climate protection. Recently, for example, the police have taken action against illegal gold diggers through a series of large-scale operations. On Tuesday, Lula announced that he would support communities in the Amazon region with 600 million reais (112 million euros) from the Amazon Fund in the fight against deforestation and forest burning.

The Amazon rainforest is a storehouse of carbon dioxide and has an important function in the international fight against climate change. During the term of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), deforestation, slashing and burning of forests increased sharply. Above all, the former military saw untapped economic potential in the region, and gave farmers and gold miners considerable freedom when it came to acquiring land. He cut off funds from the regulatory authorities or deprived them of their powers.