Politics crucial for tackling deforestation

Despite ongoing high deforestation rates in 2022, there is also encouraging news, particularly in Brazil. The Amazon rainforest witnessed a 22% reduction in deforestation for the year ending July 31, 2023, according to data from Brazil’s National Space Research Institute (INPE). This positive trend is credited to initiatives led by President Lula da Silva, including the reinstatement of monitoring programs, the reinvigoration of conservation efforts, the formation of alliances with other tropical forest nations, and a commitment to eliminating illegal deforestation by 2030.

While this marks a notable improvement from Jair Bolsonaro’s era, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon remains higher than mid-2010s levels. The concentrated deforestation areas are Pará (36.4%), Mato Grosso (23.2%), and Amazonas (17.3%), with only Mato Grosso experiencing an increase in deforestation in 2023. An increase is also observed in neighboring Bolivia, where government-supported soybean cultivation is a significant driver of deforestation.

https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/deforestation-in-the-brazilian-amazon-falls-22-in-2023/