Amazon Rainforest Deforestation Drops 45 Per Cent

In a well-received move, Brazil has announced that Amazon rainforest deforestation levels have dropped significantly, just weeks prior to a key global climate change summit.  According to officials, the rate of deforestation in the Amazon decreased by 45 per cent between August 2008 and July 2009 – a drop on a scale not witnessed in over two decades. 

In actual forest area terms, the amount lost reduced from close to 13,000 sq km to approximately 7,000 sq km and this, said Carlos Minc - Brazilian environmental minister – represented an “excellent figure – a historic result.”  Another official, meanwhile, asserted that there hadn’t been a deforestation reduction like this achieved for many years. 

Rate of Deforestation

The release of this new data on the rate of deforestation in the Amazon results coincided with the build-up to the Copenhagen climate change talks, and came hot on the heels of a proposal – announced earlier this week – to implement a new CO2 emission reduction strategy in Brazil.  This would involve the country slashing emissions by up to 42 per cent, and details of the proposal are set to be unwrapped in Copenhagen. 

The deforestation news was received warmly by a number of environmental organisations, including Greenpeace.  “We must stay alert so that this falling trend becomes consolidated and allows us to achieve the dream of zero deforestation in the Amazon”, Paulo Adario - the organisation’s Amazon director – warned, however.  “It is an important drop – but a lot of forest is still coming down”, he added.

Amazon Deforestation

A number of reasons were put forward for this change in circumstances.  Brazilian officials underlined the effectiveness of an aggressive policy against the architects of Amazon deforestation, with consistent police raids on areas where trees were being cut down.  Greenpeace, though, drew attention to another factor – that of the global economic slowdown.  “The crisis … has contributed to helping put the brakes on the rhythm of destruction, with a fall in the demand for Amazon products linked to deforestation such as meat, soy and timber”, it stated. 

See also:

The Prince's Rainforests Project