Brazilian Amazon Sees Record
Low Deforestation Rate Since 1988
BRASILIA - The Brazilian Amazon saw a record
low annual deforestation rate since the
country started monitoring the region with
satellite in 1988, the National Institute
for Space Research (INPE) said Thursday.
Between August 2008 and July 2009, the
Amazon region lost 7,464 square km of
forest, with a fall of 42 percent compared
with the previous 12-month period, an INPE
report said.
The results coincide with the institute's
forecast in December 2009, estimating that
devastation between August 2008 and July
2009 had reached a little over 7,000 square
kilometers.
The INPE report was based on 400 images
taken by three satellites under the PRODES
(Project for Monitoring Deforestation in the
Amazon) detection system.
According to the institute, devastation
began to slow down five years ago, when the
government launched plans for prevention and
control measures.
"A substantial and consistent decline in
deforestation has been observed since 2004,"
said INPE.
The biggest drop in deforestation was
registered in the center-west state of Mato
Grosso, with a reduction of 68 percent.
At the Copenhagen climate change conference
last December, Brazil presented a target of
reducing deforestation rate by 80 percent by
2020. |
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