Deforestation in the Amazon: alerts drop by 30% in February – 03/08/2024 – Environment

Deforestation alerts in the Amazon reduced by 29.7% in February, compared to the same period in 2023. Last year, 321.9 km² of forest were lost in the month, a rate that fell to 226.2 km² in 2024 .

Even with the drop, the index is the second highest for the month in the historical series of the Deter system, from Inpe (National Institute for Space Research), started in 2016 in the biome.

In the Cerrado, there was an 18.5% increase in deforestation in February, going from 553.1 km² in 2023 to 655.5 km² in 2024. However, the high incidence of clouds in the biome may have impacted the accuracy of the data.

The numbers were released this Friday (8).

As the rainy season makes it difficult to clear the forest, the beginning of the year usually sees an improvement in deforestation numbers. But cloudy weather also hinders the capture of images by the satellites that feed Deter.

In February, cloud coverage recorded by Inpe in the cerrado reached 77%, the highest ever computed by the system. Therefore, it is possible that deforested areas that have not been identified now will be counted in the coming months. In the Amazon, the cloud rate was 20%.

Deter maps and issues deforestation alerts with the aim of guiding actions by Ibama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) and other inspection bodies. The results represent an early warning, but they are not the complete picture of deforestation.

The official numbers are from another Inpe system, Prodes, which is more accurate and released annually.

In November, Prodes data showed that, from August 2022 to July 2023, 9,001 km² of Amazon forest were lost, a reduction of 22.3% compared to the previous period. In the same period, the cerrado lost 11,011.6 km² of native vegetation, representing an increase of 3%.

Last month, the states that recorded the greatest loss of native vegetation in the Amazon, according to the Deter system, were Mato Grosso (613.4 km²), Pará (386.2 km²) and Amazonas (201.8 km²).

In the Cerrado, the leading state in deforestation in February was Bahia, with 499.5 km², followed by Tocantins (432.8 km²) and Maranhão (417 km²).

Since the beginning of the year, federal government environmental employees have been on standby, demanding a restructuring of the category’s career path and improvements in salaries and working conditions.

The impact of the strike on the federal government’s environmental policy is not yet known for certain, but officials indicate a reduction in the number of fines and the issuance of licenses.

Negotiations with the ministries of Public Service Management and Innovation (MGI) and Environment and Climate Change (MMA) continue without apparent progress.

Last Tuesday (5), an extraordinary meeting was held between the MGI and Ascema (National Association of Environmental Servers), but, according to the labor organization, the meeting was fruitless and a new counter-proposal was not presented by the ministry. Now, Ascema is seeking a meeting with the head of the environmental department, Marina Silva.

The employees complain that, despite the preservation of the environment being at the center of President Lula’s (PT) speech, their career was not valued, even after years of scrapping and attacks during the administration of Jair Bolsonaro (PL).