As a result, deforestation has reached its highest level in fifteen years. The National Institute for Scientific Research (INPE), based on space research, estimates that about 13,235 square kilometers of forest were lost in the Amazon between 2020 and 2021. This was the largest strip since 14,286 square kilometers were cleared between 2005 and 2006.
Illegal deforestation
At the United Nations Climate Summit in Glasgow this month, COP26, the Brazilian government pledged to end illegal deforestation by 2028. In order to achieve this goal, a significant reduction in logging is required. In the lead-up to the summit, the Brazilian government has suggested that it will gradually bring the deforestation of the Amazon under control.
“These figures prove that deforestation remains a challenge for us and that we need to take stronger action against illegal logging,” Environment Minister Joachim Pereira Leite said yesterday.
Regarding Bolsonaro
Mauricio Vojvodik, head of the World Wildlife Fund in Brazil, said the figures reveal “the real Brazil that the government of President Jair Bolsonaro is trying to hide with fake actions and attempts to greenwash abroad.” “What the reality shows is that the Bolsonaro government has accelerated the destruction of the Amazon rainforest,” he said.
