Since Brazilian President Inácio Lula da Silva was re-elected, deforestation in the Amazon rainforest has decreased significantly. This is now the result of the state monitoring program Deter.
Since the re-election of President Inácio Lula da Silva, the level of deforestation in the Brazilian part of the Amazon rainforest has decreased significantly. According to the state monitoring program Deter, forest destruction fell by almost a third between January and May. Compared to last year, when 2867 square kilometers of precious rainforest were destroyed, this year it was only 1986 square kilometers.
Left-wing President Lula’s commitments to environmental policy have raised great expectations among environmental activists. At his inauguration in January, Lula pledged to take a firm stand against the environmental devastation of his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. His ambitious plan envisages ending illegal deforestation completely by 2030.
On the occasion of World Environment Day on Monday, Lula presented a comprehensive protection plan for the Amazon. This includes the immediate confiscation of 50 percent of all illegally used land within protected areas and the designation of an additional three million hectares of protected areas by 2027. The plan represents a revival of a project that was launched during Lula’s first term in 2004, but was put on hold under Bolsonaro.
Presenting the protection plan, Lula emphasized Brazil’s global importance in terms of climate balance. Preventing the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest also means “helping to reduce global warming”.
Despite these plans, the Lula government suffered a major setback in the Brazilian parliament last week. The House of Commons voted in favor of legislation that would return control over the allocation of new Indigenous protected areas to the Justice Department. The Ministry of the Environment would thus lose control of rural land use registration – an essential tool in the fight against illegal logging. However, the Senate has yet to approve the law.
The Amazon rainforest, which spans nine countries and is mostly in Brazil, is one of the last remaining great jungles in the world. It is home to more species of plants and animals than any other place on earth and, with its billions of trees, is a major carbon sink.
Source: Stern
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