Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon forest breaks new record | Abroad

According to Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) analysis, about half of the deforestation is believed to have occurred on public land. The size of the cleared area would be four times larger than New York City. In Brazil, a pattern has emerged of criminals confiscating public lands and waiting for legalization for agriculture or livestock. In addition to illegal real estate and timber transactions and a lack of enforcement, that pattern contributes to increasing deforestation. That reports Ane Alencar, the scientific director of IPAM, to the American news agency ‘Associated Press’.

Still, the record is remarkable for the rainy season. Historically, deforestation has increased in the drier second half of the year, as it is easier to reach remote areas of the Amazon via unpaved roads.

Perhaps the main reason behind the record lies with the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro. The area destroyed is 80 percent larger than the area cleared around the same period in 2018, the year Bolsonaro took office as president. This is apparent from an analysis by IPAM.

The South American country will elect a new president in October, a period when law enforcement in the Amazon tends to decline. Bolsonaro will run for a second term, but is currently trailing Social Democrat and former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the polls.

“Those in control of the Amazon don’t want it preserved,” director Alencar told the Associated Press in a telephone interview. “The standing forest no longer has any value in the current Amazon region.”

The most predatory felling occurred in Amazonas state. This overtaken the states of Para and Mato Grosso, where historically more trees are lost. That’s a worrying trend, given that Amazonas is deep within the rainforest and the area has remained pristine in the past.

Groen complains about “backdoor” that causes an increase in illegal deforestation in Flanders