Amazon deforestation jumps 69% in 2008

Amazon deforestation jumps 69% in 2008 according to preliminary data

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.

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