Official data shows Amazon deforestation alerts for January are 5 times more than previous year
Brazilian Space Agency INPE estimates that 430 km² of forest were cleared in just one month
New Data from the Brazilian Space Agency INPE’s DETER-B deforestation monitoring system registered the highest rate of deforestation for the month of January since DETER-B was launched in 2016.
In January alone, the alerts estimated that 430 km² of rainforest was cleared. This represents an increase of more than 418% compared to January 2021. Deforestation alerts are mainly concentrated in the states of Mato Grosso, Rondônia and Pará.
The news comes despite pledges made by 100+ governments including Brazil at COP26 to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030.
Cristiane Mazzetti, Greenpeace Brazil, said:
“Even in January, when deforestation is usually lower due to the rainy season in the Amazon region, destruction has dramatically skyrocketed. Just weeks ago, this government had delayed the release of annual deforestation numbers that revealed a massive increase and then told the world that it was resolving deforestation at COP26 in Glasgow. The new data yet again exposes how the government’s actions contradict its greenwashing campaigns.”
“The government, in fact, has created a golden opportunity for those who want to clear forests illegally or seize public lands; there is a deliberate lack of environmental inspection and many of those behind this wave of illegal deforestation are also expecting the Brazilian congress to pass legislation that will reward land-grabbing a practice connected with at least 1/3rd of all deforestation in the Amazon.”
Greenpeace Brazil Analysis found that 22.5% of the areas cleared between the 1st and 21st of January occurred specifically in the undesignated public lands, a frequent target for landgrabbers.
A new law that would create pathways to legitimise and forgive prior land-grabs of public lands is currently in its final stages of approval in the Brazilian Senate. Scientists and experts have found that the law is unnecessary and it has the potential to stimulate massive deforestation.
Elena Polisano, Senior Forests Campaigner Greenpeace UK, said:
“Less than three months ago governments including the UK and Brazil signed a declaration at COP26 to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. And earlier last year, supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl told the Brazilian Congress they’d reconsider use of the Brazilian agricultural commodity supply chain if new laws weakening existing forest protections were passed. That moment is getting perilously close.
“Decades of inaction by governments and companies have created the crisis the Amazon now faces. These alarming figures are fresh evidence of the need for bold action not warm words to prevent the climate, humanitarian and wildlife catastrophe that losing the Amazon and other vital forests would cause.
“Supermarkets like Tesco must immediately drop forest destroyers from their meat and dairy supply chains and governments must close legislative loopholes to ensure deforestation-free supply chains are exactly that.”
