AMAZON DEFORESTATION
Autor: Jairo Cantarelli | Publicado: 2015-03-13T06:03:00-07:00






According to INPE - National Institute of
Spatial Research, the areas affected by some kind of degradation in the
Brazilian Amazon, has been falling in recent years:

2011 – 24.650 km2 (9.628 sq miles)

2012 –&nbsp;&nbsp;
8.634 km2 (3.373 sq miles)

2013 –&nbsp;&nbsp;
5.434 km2 (2.123 sq miles)



A very good news !!!



Other one very positive information is the one
that realizes a reduction of 18% in the annual rate of deforestation in the
last two years:

Ago/12 a Jul/13 – 5.891 km2 (2.301 sq miles)

Ago/13 a Jul/14 – 4.848 km2 (1.894 sq miles)



Apparently, the Brazilian government has been
able to exercise good management to control this problem, with positive figures
each year.



However, short-term data has turned on the red
lights in the control system. The monthly deforestation alert records soared in
recent months:

Nov/14 – 77 km2 (30 sq miles)

Dec/14 – 85 km2 (33 sq miles)

Jan/15 – 129 km2 (50 sq miles)



Surprisingly, whit an unusual agility to the
Brazilian government, last Wednesday (11th of March) was formalized
an agreement between the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Justice and the
BNDES - National Bank for Economic and Social Development. This agreement
formalizes the creation and the equipment of the Environmental Operation Force,
which will use the effective of the National Security Force for actions to
control and combat the illegal deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.



The agreement provides US$11 million for the
investment to ensure the mobilization of a group of 200 men of the National
Security Force in strategic points of the Amazon rainforest. Officials of the
National Force will make surveillance operations and control of illegal logging
in the region, in a systematic way.



The Minister of Environment says that this
action is part of the 3rd phase of the Action Plan for the Prevention and
Control of Deforestation in the Amazon, which started in 2004 and, currently,
involves 14 ministries, coordinated by the Environment Ministry.



It seems that this Action Plan has been working
!!!



For its part, the NGO WWF Brazil, draws
attention to the fact that, despite the significant reduction of deforestation,
Brazil still ranks at the top of the deforestation ranking in the world and they
are concerned about the information in deforestation rates increasing in recent
months.



Also according to the WWF, deforestation in the
Amazon had two important peaks, in 1995 and 2004, and somewhere around 400.000 km2
(156.250 sq miles) were deforest since 1988. It is a large Brazilian issue,
since the lost represents, at least, 19% of the Amazon.



Another NGO, the FSC Brazil, appears to be
quite concerned about the illegal trade in wood still existing in the country.
According to the FSC, the illegality is still a reality in Brazil and the
conversion rate of native forests proves it is still present. The northern
region is where this situation is more alarming, especially because this is the
place where still are greater extension of native forest remaining in the
country. In other Brazilian regions, there is a greater concentration of
planted forests, which facilitates the monitoring and certification thereof.



The FSC Brazil warns that there is a strong
economic pressure against those who adopt good practices in forestry, because
they compete against prices of illegal timber, which is not charged with every
costs and taxes.



The WWF recognizes the efforts of Brazil in the
last 10 years to stop deforestation in the Amazon, through public policies,
mechanisms and tropical forest protection systems, but remain alarming about deforestation
and forest degradation in neighboring countries that share the biome, such as
Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. 25 deforestation fronts were identified in
the region, with an increase in forest loss in the Andean countries.



In 2001, deforestation in Brazil represented
81% of total deforestation in the biome, and in 2012, the figure had fallen to
44%. Thus, Brazilian advances regarding to the fall of the Amazon forest
deforestation, are perversely compensated by the growth of the destruction of
the Amazon forests in other countries.



As the Amazon biome does not recognizes
geographical borders between countries, unfortunately the remaining native
forests is becoming smaller every day.




Until the next post !!!