The PRODES deforestation monitoring system noted the destruction of 9,001 km2 of primitive forest between August 2022 and July 2023, the best observation since 2019.
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Two records at odds with each other. The Brazilian government announced on Thursday, November 9, a drop of 22.3% in one year in deforestation in the Amazon, the best result in four years. Good news immediately qualified by the reminder of the drought and the fires which threaten the largest tropical forest in the world. According to’global environmental protection organizations WWF, the Amazon recorded its worst October in 15 years, with 22,000 fires starting, an increase of 59% compared to the same month last year.
The north and northeast of Brazil are suffering from a severe drought that has reduced river flows to historically low levels. In a recent report, the National Center for Monitoring and Warning of Natural Disasters is hardly reassuring: the situation is expected to worsen over the coming months, due to the “high probability” below-average precipitation and temperatures “higher than historical values”.
133 million tonnes of CO2 avoided
In parallel with this alert, the PRODES deforestation monitoring system noted the destruction of 9,001 km2 of primitive forest between August 2022 and July 2023. This is the best observation observed since 2019, the starting point of an outbreak of logging in the Amazon rainforest, which reached a peak of 13,038 km2 destroyed between August 2020 and July 2021.
A coalition of environmental groups welcomed the findings, which “put the country on track to achieve the climate goal”. According to the Brazilian government, the reduction in deforestation between August 2022 and July 2023 made it possible to avoid the emission of 133 million tonnes of CO2, or 7.5% of the total emitted by the country.