Deforestation in Brazil has rocketed since Bolsonaro became president
ENVIRONMENT 22 July 2019
By 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 3700 square kilometres of forest has been deforested this year, 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 on the recent high of 3183 square kilometres in 2016.
The world’s greatest rainforest is not only home to a rich diversity of species and around 400 indigenous groups, but is also a vast store of carbon that is vital for tackling climate change. Increasing deforestation of the Amazon makes reducing our global carbon emissions much harder, says Mark Maslin of University College London.
Deforestation in the region appears to be accelerating by the month, with July being exceptionally bad. More than 1250 square kilometres has been lost in the first 22 days, up more than 100 per cent on the whole of July last year, figures from Brazilian space agency INPE show.
Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2210621-deforestation-in-brazil-has-rocketed-since-bolsonaro-became-president/#ixzz5uRBZuSkF