Brazil confirms near five-fold increase in deforestation
Brazil confirms near five-fold increase in deforestation
The latest data from Brazil's National Space Research Institute (INPE) has uncovered a worrying reversal in the country's trend towards reducing deforestation.
Efforts from companies like Greenwood and other businesses motivated by the need to create a sustainable growth model for the region, have been helping to drive down the rate of deforestation in the Amazon over recent years. But the latest statistics show that the rate has crept up over the past 12 months.
The data showed a nearly five-fold increase in forest loss during May 2013 in comparison to the same month in 2012. The satellite data revealed nearly 465 sq km of deforestation over the course of the month.
It's true that this figure is small in comparison to earlier years when Brazil's rapid economic expansion resulted in a huge amount of deforestation. Rising prices for agricultural produce increased the rate at which people cut down forest to use the fertile land for crops such as soybeans. Economic growth also increased demand for timber and the slow introduction of regulation meant that the forest was ripe for exploitation.
While the data isn't wholly accurate due to allowances that need to be made for cloud coverage, other reports have indicated a similar trend, suggesting that something needs to be done quickly to catch the reversal before it takes hold.
A report from Imazon, an NGO based in Brazil, showed an 89 per cent increase in deforestation between August 2011 and May 2012 when 873 sq km were lost, and August 2012 and May 2013 when 1,654 sq km were lost.
Brazil accounts for more than 60 per cent of the Amazon rainforest and has recently been a leader in reducing deforestation. Greenwood's efforts have gone someway to help this but we can only do so much; what is really needed is a long-term change in attitudes towards the rainforest in order to protect this vital resource.
