Deforestation increased in the Cerrado and fell in the Legal Amazon, from January to April 2023, compared to the same period last year. The data are from the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) collected from the Deforestation Detection System in Real Time (Deter), available on the TerraBrasilis platform [http://terrabrasilis.dpi.inpe.br/]. In the case of the Amazon, the area lost was 1,132.45 square kilometers (km2) this year, a number about 41% smaller than that measured between January and April last year (1,967.69 km2), but equivalent to deforestation occurred in 2021 (1,153.27 km2) and 2020 (1,204.15 km2). Deforestation in the Cerrado between January and April 2023 was the highest in the last five years, reaching 2,133 km2, according to Deter. The value is about 14.5% higher than that recorded in the same period last year (1,886 km2). Considering just the month of April, deforestation alerts are 31% higher this year, compared to 2022. Alert In a note, the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA) recalled that Deter carries out a quick survey of deforestation alerts evidence of changes in vegetation cover in the Amazon and Cerrado. This survey is considered the main inspection and control instrument for deforestation and forest degradation, carried out by the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) and other environmental agencies. Despite this, the platform is not intended to accurately measure the deforested areas, which is done by the Project for Monitoring Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (Prodes), prepared annually by Inpe. “It is not possible, given the scale of the analysis and the cloud cover that interferes with these measurements, to ensure that these numbers are definitive. However, they constitute an important tool for planning and improving actions to combat illegal deforestation in these biomes. In this sense, the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change determined to rigorously verify the alerts identified by Deter, in order to verify whether they were deforestation authorized by the States, since it is up to them to issue authorizations for the suppression of native vegetation. The MMA also determined the verification of the legal bases of the authorizations issued, as well as the immediate action of Ibama in the sense of prosecuting and embargoing the areas deforested without authorization”, said the folder. Repercussion Environmentalist organizations have repercussions on the Deter data. For WWF-Brazil, the result in relation to the Amazon may indicate a reversal in the trend of destruction of the biome, but it is still too early to know whether such a change will be consolidated. “We received the April numbers as a positive sign, but unfortunately we still cannot speak of a downward trend in deforestation in the Amazon. The numbers are at a very high level and the dry season, which is favorable to deforestation, has not yet started”, says Mariana Napolitano, Conservation Manager at WWF-Brasil. In relation to the Cerrado, the situation is considered very alarming. About 80% of the deforestation alerts occurred in areas of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia, the so-called Matopiba, a region that is currently the main frontier of agricultural expansion in Brazil and one of the great fronts for the destruction of biomes in the world. In recent decades, the Cerrado has lost more than 50% of its original vegetation cover. The biome is primarily responsible for the country’s water security, as it houses important hydrographic basins and the largest water supply reservoirs in large cities. In addition, it depends on a stable rainfall regime to ensure productivity in the agricultural activity itself. The MMA reported that it has increased the number of embargoes on the use of illegally deforested areas by 216% since January. The seizure of products resulting from environmental violations increased by 210%, according to the folder. “In the Cerrado and other biomes (except the Amazon) there was a 169% increase in infraction notices from January to April compared to the average in the previous administration. The number of embargoes on the use of illegally deforested areas in the Cerrado and other biomes increased by 198% and seizures of products arising from environmental violations increased by 154% in the same period”, highlighted the folder. Also according to the federal government, in May the new phase of the Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon (PPCDAm), restored through President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, will be concluded. As early as July, the MMA should start updating the Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Cerrado (PPCerrado), which “will allow for the expansion and intensification of the efforts of the federal government, in partnership with state governments and society, to combat deforestation. deforestation in the biome”.
Agência Brasil
Folha Nobre - Desde 2013 - ©