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11/30/2016
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Estimates from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) indicate that deforestation in Amazonia grew by 29% in 2016. In the period from August 2015 to July this year, the institute recorded a rate of 7,989 square kilometers (km2) of total removal Of the forest cover by clear cut. The country did not reach the mark of 7 thousand square kilometers deforested since 2010.
The state of Pará had 3,025 km2 of its devastated area, which represents the highest rate of deforestation in the Legal Amazon. Amazonas, however, is the state with the highest increase, with a devastation 54% higher than that recorded between 2014 and 2015. The only states that showed a fall in rates were Acre and Mato Grosso. However, Mato Grosso is the second state with the largest deforested area.
The mapping also shows that, compared to 2004, when the Plan for Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon was initiated, there was a 71% reduction in the shallow cutting rate, that is, the elimination of all existing vegetation over an area. The data are recorded by satellite in areas that are over 6.25 hectares.
Repercussion
Experts and members of non-governmental organizations reacted to the result. According to Tasso Azevedo, coordinator of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Rate Estimation System, the growth of deforestation in 2016 should represent an increase of 130 million tons of carbon dioxide in Brazilian emissions.
"This is equivalent to everything that issued in 2015 the State of São Paulo, the most populous in Brazil, or twice the total emission of Portugal. The deforested area is twice Brazil's target for 2020 to reduce deforestation in the Amazon by 80% to 3,925 square kilometers. We are moving away from the commitment, "he says.
Greenpeace called for a change in policies to combat deforestation. "The number is the harvest of what has been planted in policies in recent years: amnesty to deforestation in the Forest Code, abandonment of the creation of protected areas and demarcation of indigenous lands and the shamelessness of the goal for Brazil's forests in the UN. To reverse this situation there is only one way: to undo the wrong policies. The announcement of the transparency of Rural Environmental Cadastre is a start, but more needs to be done, "said Marcio Astrini, coordinator of Public Policy at Greenpeace.
The Amazon Environmental Research Institute (Ipam) also expressed its interest in raising the rate and charged more effective actions to combat the problem. "This rate proves that the fight against deforestation must be a national battle, not just an environmental one. We, as a society, let this happen, and now we have to be creative to reduce and zero the devastation. We need new incentives, more efficient monitoring and private sector involvement. Only command and control are not enough anymore, "said André Guimarães, executive director of Ipam.
Government
In a note, Environment Minister Sarney Filho said that since June the pulp budget has grown significantly for the main units involved in combating deforestation: Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) and Brazilian Forest Service.
"The MMA [Ministry of the Environment] has been able to provide the entire limit for commitment, that is, the ministry has zero percent of contingency," said the minister.
Sarney also stated that the new phase of the Plan for Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon should broaden the dialogue with states and productive sectors and that a list of priority municipalities in the Amazon and Cerrado will be elaborated for the adoption of preventive measures And control of deforestation. The minister acknowledged that monitoring is not enough.
"Although necessary, command and control instruments have limited reach, and the development of economic alternatives is indispensable," he said.
Agência Brasil contacted the Environment Secretariat of the state of Pará, but at the time of publication of this article, it received no return.
Source: JB Online
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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.