In 2022, the Amazon had the highest deforestation in 15 years, says Imazon

Deforestation in the Amazon hit a new record in 2022, the year in which the vegetation cover of the forest lost 10,573 km², the equivalent of almost 3,000 soccer fields, according to a report released today (18) by the Amazon Institute for Man and Environment (Imazon). ). By satellite monitoring, 2022, which reached its highest level since 2008, when Imazon began monitoring the Amazon Region. In the last 4 years, forest loss in the Amazon was 35,193 km², according to Imazon. The area exceeds those of states like Sergipe (21 thousand km²) and Alagoas (27 thousand km²). The period coincides with the mandate of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who used to discredit data on deforestation. The government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has promised to give priority to the matter. The Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva, has given statements about the preservation of the forest. In one of the first measures, the Amazon Fund was unlocked, which has donations from Germany and Norway to be applied in environmental protection actions. “We hope that this was the last deforestation record reported by our satellite monitoring system, since the new government has promised to prioritize the protection of the Amazon”, said researcher Bianca Santos, from Imazon, in the material released this Wednesday. fair (18). The institute highlighted the jump in deforestation recorded in December, the month in which 287 km² of forest were cut down, an increase of 150% compared to the same month in 2021 (140 km²) and the worst last month of the year in the entire historical series. “In the last month of the year, there was an unbridled race to deforest while the gate was open to cattle, land speculation, illegal mining and deforestation in indigenous lands and conservation units. This shows the size of the new government’s challenge”, said Carlos Souza Jr, Amazon monitoring coordinator at the institute, in the publicity material. About 80% of the area deforested in 2022 is on land under the responsibility of the federal government (8,443 km²). Another 11% of the destroyed territory is under the jurisdiction of state governments (1,130 km²). Also according to the report, the state that most deforested in 2022 was Pará (3089 km²), followed by Amazonas (2270 km²) and Mato Grosso (1228 km²). All information about the Amazon deforestation monitoring report can be found on the Imazon portal.

Agência Brasil