Deforesting in the Amazon Increases by 24%

10/07/2016 - 14h30

The annual deforesting rate in the Amazon is growing again. In comparison with the figures of 2014, there was a 24% increase in deforesting in the area. The data were disclosed last week by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (Inpe).

Between August 2014 and July 2015, 6,207 km² of forest were cut down. That is the largest area registered since 2011, when 6,418 km² of forest were destroyed. By comparison, the 24% increase represents the second highest since the beginning of the 2000s.

The year with the highest growth in deforestation was 2013, which had a 29% hike in comparison with the previous year.

The isolated datum, however, should not be the focus of worries regarding deforestation, says Thelma Krug, the director of the Department of Policies to Tackle Deforestation (DPCD) of the Ministry of Environment. Krug believes that we should be more worried about the fact that, since 2011, the fall in total deforestation has come to a standstill.

It is a big contrast in comparison with 2009, for example, when there was a sharp decline (42%) in deforestation in the country. Krug says that Brazil's current moment is one of the main factors that contribute to the new increase. A weak economy and ineffective policies have hampered inspection and intensified deforestation in general.

Private proprieties (agricultural land) were the most deforested in 2015. They were responsible for 36% of all the deforestation registered. They were followed by two other areas, also reasons for concern: the glebes, public lands and the settlements.

The Brazilian Forest Code establishes that proprieties in Amazônia Legal must have 80% of its native vegetation preserved. In addition to increasing inspection, the director of the DPCD says that a new Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation is under way.

The program was launched in 2004 and, since then, the overall deforestation rates have been falling. The idea now is to reduce deforestation through economic incentives.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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	Alberto César Araújo - 13.set.11/Folhapress
	The annual deforesting rate in the Amazon is growing again