Amazon: deforestation continues unabated

Brazillian rainforest

Once again, the savage deforestation in the Amazon is on the rise, the Missionary News Service reports. During the month of June, some 312.7 square kilometres of forest were cleared, after a slight decline in the previous month. According to the Institute of Space Research of Brazil (INPE), the most affected state is the northern Pará, a region historically marked by conflicts over land tenure.

If June marked the beginning of the dry season, which traditionally coincides with the 'peak' of deforestation in the Amazon, the alarm, was already raised in March and April, when more than 500 square miles of forest burned to the ground - mainly in Mato Grosso, where agriculture and livestock production continues to grow - in the time of year when this widespread practice is usually reduced. These numbers are even more worrying, considering that during the same period in 2010 just 100 square km of forestland was cleared in what is claimed to be the largest reserve of biodiversity in the world.

The so-called 'crisis unit' for the Amazon region of Brazil established by the government to curb illegal logging appears to be powerless. The satellite system used to detect INPI, or'Deter', would always be approximate because it only documents deforested areas over 25 hectares in size. According to data from the system, overall, in the last 11 months in the Amazon deforestation has increased by 34%. At the last international summit on climate change in Copenhagen in 2009, Brazil had committed itself to reduce deforestation in the Amazon by 80% by 2020. Next spring, Brazil will host the UN conference in Rio de Janeiro.

Source: MISNA