The data was collected by the new version of the Real-Time Deforestation Detection System (Deter), which went into effect in 2015, and is part of the Brazilian Space Research Institute (Inpe), a government agency.
The previous record was set in 2018, when 356.6 square kilometers of forest were cleared in March, followed by 2020, with 326.49 square kilometers of forest cleared.
Additionally, deforestation tends to increase in the coming months, bearing in mind records of previous years, due to the approaching dry season in the forest, which also increases the number of fires in the Amazon.
The increase in deforestation in the largest tropical forest on the planet has been criticized by the non-governmental organization Greenpeace (NGO), which has warned that there is a 12.5% increase in measurements compared to 2020 even with a higher cloud. cover. , A factor that may have hindered Deter’s satellite reading.
A few weeks before the virtual summit on global warming, scheduled for April 22-23 by US President Joe Biden, pressure is mounting against the Brazilian head of state, Jair Bolsonaro.
Several NGOs called for Biden to involve civil society in his government’s negotiations with Brazil over the Amazon and urged “no consideration to any agreement” until deforestation in the Amazon, which reached record levels during the Bolsonaro government, is reduced to the indicators set by the policy. National Climate Change.
“In the midst of measures promoting deforestation in the Amazon and rewarding criminals, Deter de Março is another reason why the Biden government has not signed a” blank check “with the Bolsonaro government, Greenpeace wrote on the network today. .
“Behind closed doors, Brazil and the United States are negotiating to announce the transfer of billionaire resources to curb deforestation in Brazil. However, there is no guarantee that the money will actually be earmarked for forest protection. On the contrary, the agreement could make the Biden government complicit in The environmental destruction being promoted by the Bolsonaro government, “the NGO also argued in a statement.
During the first two years of Bolsonaro, which took office in January 2019, the area of destroyed forest on the map reached 10,700 square kilometers in 2019, and 9,800 square kilometers in 2020, the worst numbers since 2008.
The Brazilian head of state has already shown himself in support of agricultural and mining exploitation in the Amazon region, calling environmental NGOs a “cancer” and also accusing foreign powers of criticizing their environmental policy in order to seize Brazil’s natural resources.
Joe Biden has called 40 world leaders, including Jair Bolsonaro and the heads of state of China and Russia, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, respectively, to a virtual summit on global warming within two weeks.
“Hardcore alcohol maven. Hipster-friendly analyst. Introvert. Devoted social media advocate.”
