|
Amazon deforestation jumps 69% in 2008
mongabay.com
August 31, 2008
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon increased 69 percent in the past 12 months as high commodity prices have driven forest conversion for ranches and cropland, according to preliminary figures released by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE). The increase comes after three consecutive years of declining deforestation in Brazil.
INPE data shows that 8,147 square kilometers (3,145 square miles) of forest were cleared between August 2007 and August 2008, a 69 percent increase over the 4,820 square kilometers (1,861 square miles) razed in the previous period [see note below]. Degradation due to logging affects a larger area but is not reported in INPE figures.
The rise in forest destruction had been expected. High prices for beef and soy — commodities increasingly produced in the Amazon region — have spurred an uptick in land speculation and new agricultural development.
|
Brazil accounted for the bulk of tropical forest loss between 2000 and 2005.
|
Anticipating criticism for the acceleration, the Brazilian government has this year unveiled a raft of initiatives to rein in illegal deforestation, including offering payments and other financial incentives to landowners for keeping forest standing, increasing fines for illegal deforestation, and giving authorities the power to seize property and goods from people involved in illicit logging. The number of federal police operating in the Amazon has been increased and several new protected areas have been established. Brazil has also proposed a $21 billion fund for conserving the Amazon and promoting sustainable development, while the beef, soy, and logging industries have developed their own initiatives to improve the environmental performance of their products.
The Brazilian Amazon consists of about 4.1 million square kilometers, of which about 3.4 million are forested. Overall about 20 percent of the Brazilian Amazon has been cleared since the late 1970s. Still the Amazon remains the largest rainforest on Earth. More than 60 percent of the forest lies in Brazil.
[*] The new figures comes from INPE's DETER (for Real-time Detection of Deforestation) system for monitoring deforestation. DETER detects an area of deforestation of greater than 25 hectares. Brazil's other satellite system is known as PRODES (for Program to Calculate Deforestation in the Amazon). It can detect areas of deforestation of more than 6.5 hectares. DETER is used as an alert system to monitor deforestation in progress, while PRODES is used to make the final determination of deforestation over a given period. INPE says that DETER data should not be used to estimate annual rates of deforestation.
Carlos Minc, Brazil's Environment Minister, has said he expects the final deforestation figures for 2008 to fall between 12,000-15,000 square kilometers. 11,532 square kilometers were cleared in 2007.
Related
Future threats to the Amazon rainforest
(7/31/2008) Between June 2000 and June 2008, more than 150,000 square kilometers of rainforest were cleared in the Brazilian Amazon. While deforestation rates have slowed since 2004, forest loss is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. This is a look at past, current and potential future drivers of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.
Global Commodities Boom Fuels New Assault on Amazon
(6/20/2008) With soaring prices for agricultural goods and new demand for biofuels, the clearing of the world's largest rain forest has accelerated dramatically. Unless forceful measures are taken, half of the Brazilian Amazon could be cut, burned or dried out within 20 years.
News index | RSS | News Feed
Advertisements:
Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing
| |
|
MONGABAY.COM
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)
CONTENTS
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
INTERACT
POPULAR PAGES
T-SHIRTS
Madagascar Wildlife
Dancing lemurs
Don't fall asleep the sloths will eat you
Sucking on this frog may make you insane
CALENDARS
Mount Kenya
East Africa Safari Wildlife
Kenya's Turkana People
Peru
African Wildlife
Alaska
China
Madagascar Chameleons
CANVAS BAGS
Hallucinogenic frog bag
Madagascar wildlife bag
|
|
