Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 66 percent in August compared to the same period last year, the government said Tuesday while announcing the demarcation of two new Indigenous reserves.
"In August, we had a reduction of 66.11 percent in deforestation" in Brazil's share of the world's biggest rainforest, Environment Minister Marina Silva told media at a ceremony marking Amazon Day.
That followed a similar year-on-year drop of 66 percent in July – both crucial months in the Amazon, where deforestation typically surges this time of year with the onset of drier weather.
According to satellite monitoring by Brazil's space research institute, INPE, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon wiped out 1,661 square kilometers in August 2022.
In the first eight months of the year, INPE's figures showed deforestation had fallen a cumulative 48 percent from the same period in 2022.
The data give President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reasons to cheer as he has promised to end deforestation in the region by 2030 after destruction surged under his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who slashed environmental protection efforts.
A view of the Guama River and the Amazon rainforest in Belem, Brazil, August 7, 2023. /CFP
Key to that pledge, researchers say, are Indigenous reserves, considered bulwarks against deforestation.
"If there is no future for the Amazon and its people, there will be no future for the planet either," Lula said in his announcement of the two new reserves.
His government in April issued decrees recognizing six new Indigenous territories, authorizing Indigenous peoples to occupy the land and have exclusive use of its resources.
Another six could be demarcated by the end of the year, the government said Tuesday.
The country has some 800 reserves, but around a third of them have not been officially demarcated, according to Brazil's Indigenous affairs agency.
Indigenous people from Amazon countries and social movement members participate in the March of the Peoples of the Earth for the Amazon in Belem, Para State, Brazil, August 8, 2023. /CFP
Some experts feared the significant drop of more than 40 percent in deforestation seen in the first seven months of Lula's administration could have been put at risk by higher destruction in August and September when the weather turns drier.
However, initial signs are that those concerns did not materialize.
Deforestation in the Amazon causes the loss of many species and their habitats, negatively impacts indigenous people and their health, causes fire, an increase in CO2 emissions, soil erosion, flooding, desertification, pollution of rivers and lands, and negatively alters the water cycle around the world.
Last month, Brazil hosted a major rainforest summit, where eight Amazon nations agreed to a list of unified environmental policies and measures to bolster regional cooperation but failed to agree on a common goal for ending deforestation.
Lula has staked his international reputation on improving Brazil's environmental standing.
(With input from agencies)
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