From the New Scientist:
Adam Vaughan
Satellite images suggest that deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest has shot up since Jair Bolsonaro became president in January, despite his claim on Friday that the data “lies”.
More than 3,700 square kilometers of forest has gone through deforestation in Brazil this year alone. That’s an area about a fifth the size of Wales, preliminary satellite data indicates. Even before figures for the whole of July are in, the losses for the first seven months of the year are up 16 per cent. That’s on the recent high of 3183 square kilometers in 2016.
Back when I reported and Posted on 26 April 2012. Brazil’s Congress passed legislation late last night that strips the Amazon and other key regions of critical environmental protections, and grants amnesty to individuals accused of past illegal deforestation.
WWF condemning the new Forest Code bill. All driven by retrograde sectors of Brazil’s powerful agribusiness industry, for its failure to account for severe social and environmental costs. Since 2006, Brazil has demonstrated that it can dramatically reduce its rate of deforestation while increasing agricultural production and reducing poverty. This bill threatens hard-won gains for both the environment and Brazilian society.
Finally, the world’s greatest rainforest is not only home to a rich diversity of species and around 400 indigenous groups. In addition and more noteworthy, it’s also a vast store of carbon. Storage therefore that is vital for tackling climate change. Finally, increasing deforestation in Brasil and of the Amazon makes reducing our global carbon emissions much harder. All says Mark Maslin of University College London.
