Deforestation in the Brazilian rainforest has decreased dramatically

According to the government, fewer rainforests have been destroyed in the Brazilian Amazon since the beginning of the year than in the previous year. President Lula announced in January that he wanted to better protect the region.

Since Brazil’s new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office, far fewer rainforests have been cut down in the Amazon region than before. According to the South American country’s environment ministry, the area deforested in the region decreased by 31 percent in the first five months of the year compared to the same period last year. In contrast, in the Cerrado, a humid savanna in southeastern Brazil, deforestation increased by 35 percent compared to the previous year.

Lula began his third term on New Year’s Day. In his two previous terms between 2003 and 2010, the former trade union leader was completely unknown to the environment. But now he promised to strengthen environmental and climate protection. Recently, the police launched a large-scale operation against illegal gold diggers. According to his plans, illegal deforestation should end by 2030.

On the occasion of World Environment Day, on Monday Lula presented a comprehensive protection plan for the Amazon. Among other things, it provides for the immediate confiscation of half of all illegally used land within protected areas and the designation of three million hectares of additional protected areas by 2027. Lula’s program follows a project launched in 2004 during his first presidency, which was suspended by President Jair Bolsonaro, who ruled from 2019 to 2022.

Barbock wants to save millions more

German Foreign Minister Analina Berbock was also on the road in the Amazon on Wednesday, campaigning for international support in the fight against deforestation. “We’ve already paid millions for the Amazon Fund in the past. This trip also serves to provide millions more for it,” said the green politician on her Latin America trip in the Brazilian Amazon city of Belém.

The Amazon rainforest stretches across nine countries, most of which are in Brazil. It is a storehouse of carbon dioxide and has an important function in the international fight against climate change. During the tenure of right-wing President Bolsonaro, deforestation and firefighting increased sharply. The former military saw the area primarily as untapped economic potential and gave farmers and gold miners a largely free hand when it came to land grabs. Cutting off funds from the regulatory authorities or stripping them of their powers.