For the 14th month in a row, deforestation in the Amazon increased compared to last year. It is the largest increase since 2016, according to data from Deter, a program by Inpe (National Institute for Space Research). The system measures forest clearing in real-time, and Ibama uses it to combat environmental crimes.
This increase happened even with the publicized operation Verde Brasil 2. The army is helping to fight deforestation because of pressure from international investors.
The destruction of the forest grew about 10% compared to the same month of 2019 and reached the highest value of km² destroyed in the recent historical series, which started in 2015. June recorded more than 1,000 km² destroyed.
Deter also measures deforestation in the Amazon, which has been growing since before Jair Bolsonaro entered office.
Compared to previous years, the data for June 2020 are even greater. Compared to 2018, deforestation last month grew by almost 112%. Compared to 2017, the increase was 70%.
The first nine months under Bolsonaro holds the record for Deter's historical series. Also, four months had deforestation above 1,000 km² (three of them in 2019 and the month of June 2020).
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon