Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest rose 43{85424e366b324f7465dc80d56c21055464082cc00b76c51558805a981c8fcd63} in April from the same month a year ago as destruction picked up ahead of the annual burning season.
In the first four months of 2021, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon totalled 1,157 square kilometers, an area nearly the size of Los Angeles. Early months of the year, when intense rains prevent loggers from easily working in the forest, have limited impact on the Amazon’s overall annual deforestation rates, as destruction peaks in the drier season from May to October.
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest rose 43{85424e366b324f7465dc80d56c21055464082cc00b76c51558805a981c8fcd63} in April from the same month a year ago, preliminary government data has showed – the second consecutive monthly rise as destruction picked up ahead of the annual burning season.
Brazil is under intense international pressure led by the United States to rein in destruction of the world’s largest tropical rainforest, critical in curbing catastrophic climate change because of the vast amount of greenhouse gas absorbed.
At a leaders summit last month organized by the United States, President Jair Bolsonaro committed to increase funding for environmental enforcement and to end deforestation by 2030. But U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, which is in talks to possibly fund Brazilian conservation efforts, says it expects immediate action to reduce deforestation this year. Illegal logging and forest fires have soared since Bolsonaro took office in 2019, with deforestation hitting a 12-year high in 2020, government data showed.
“Biden doesn’t want to be in a position where it looks like he is being too soft on Brazil when it comes to the environment,” said Anya Prusa, a senior associate for the Brazil Institute at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington. The overall trend in deforestation matters more than a single month, Prusa added. “If deforestation goes back up, if we see again significant forest fires in the Amazon in August and September this year, it will make it harder for the U.S. to continue talking to Brazil.”
Bolsonaro’s press representatives referred questions to the vice president’s office. The Vice Presidency said in a statement that the data was designed to help authorities rapidly respond to deforestation, adding that comparing single months from different years was not appropriate and only longer term comparisons should be made. Negotiations with the United States continue normally, the statement said.
Original source: https://www.reuters.com