Brazil Celebrates As Deforestation in Amazon Falls 66% In August

Environment Minister Marina Silva announced that deforestation in Brazil's Amazon decreased 66.11% in August to its lowest level for the month since 2018, marking a significant milestone for the country's environmental strategy at a time when devastation often peaks.

According to satellite data from the Brazilian space research agency INPE, 563 square kilometers (217.38 square miles) of rainforest were removed in the month, a 66.1% decrease from the same period a year ago.

According to INPE data, deforestation decreased by 48% in the first eight months of the year compared to the same time in 2022.

Brazil celebrates

The findings give President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reason to celebrate, as he has pledged to halt deforestation in the region by 2030, after it skyrocketed under his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who reduced environmental protection measures.

He acknowledged the result of the great work of the Environment Ministry and the federal government.

"Hurry that allows us to arrive with new announcements of concrete actions. Actions that will change people's lives in the short term and that will contribute so that, in 2030, we can be proud to say: we achieved the Zero Deforestation we promised," Lula posted in X, formerly known as Twitter.

Some experts were concerned that the large decline in deforestation recorded in the first seven months of Lula's presidency would be jeopardized by increasing destruction in August and September, when the weather turns drier.

However, early indications suggest that those fears were unfounded.

Brazil hosted a significant rainforest summit last month, at which eight Amazon states agreed to a set of unified environmental policies and measures to strengthen regional cooperation but failed to reach an agreement on a common target for stopping deforestation.

Lula has placed his international reputation on Brazil's environmental performance.

New Indigenous lands

During the celebration of Amazon Day, Lula also signed the creation of two Indigenous territories totaling 207,000 hectares (511,000 acres)-more than twice the size of New York City-as well as a network of conservation areas adjacent to the Yanonami Indigenous Territory to act as a buffer against invaders, primarily illegal gold miners.

The demarcation of the Acapuri de Cima reserve and the Rio Gregorio reserve arrives at a critical juncture in the nation's history, when the nation has been waiting for a decision that might derail or cement Indigenous victories.

"The Amazon is in a hurry to survive the devastation caused by those few people who refuse to see the future, who in a few years cut down, burned, and polluted what nature took millennia to create," Lula said during a ceremony in Brasilia. "The Amazon is in a hurry to continue doing what it has always done, to be essential for life on Earth."

According to the Brazilian Indigenous Affairs Agency, the country has 800 reserves, over a third of which have not been officially designated.

The new program will provide technical help worth up to $120 million.

The funds will be distributed in accordance with the municipality's effectiveness in decreasing deforestation and fires, as determined by official satellite monitoring. An annual list of municipalities eligible for the money will be released.

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