General

Deforestation in Amazon down 70% in January

Deforestation warnings declined 21% in the last six months

Andreia Verdélio

Published on 12/02/2021 - 15:34

Brasília

January showed the smallest area receiving deforestation warnings in the last four years, down 70 percent from January 2020. The information was announced in Brasília today (Feb. 12) by the Defense Ministry, with data from the National Space Research Institute (INPE). In the past six months, deforestation warnings were down 21 percent, the ministry reported.

“From August 2020 to January 2021, warnings covered 988 km² less, as per INPE figures. For comparative purposes, this is larger than the urban area of the city of São Paulo—the country’s largest urban center, with approximately 950km²,” the Defense Ministry declared.

These data, the ministry goes on to state, show “the good performance” of the joint work coordinated by the National Legal Amazon Council in the region, especially through Operation Brazil Green 2.

From the beginning of the operation, in May 2020, to January this year, 331 thousand m³ of wood, 1,699 vessels, 326 tractors, and 20 airplanes/helicopters were seized, resulting in 4,842 fines imposed, which add up to $618.7 million.

The measures aim to optimize the work of field teams with analysts from governmental agencies convened at the Management and Operational Center of the Amazon Protection System (CENSIPAM), in Brasília, under the Defense Ministry.