DISAPPEARS: Large areas of forest disappear every month in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil. Photo: Leo Correa / AP
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In June, 1062 square kilometers of the Amazon rainforest were deforested in Brazil. This is the highest figure for June since the measurements began in 2015.
June was the fourth consecutive month with record high deforestation figures, reports the Rainforest Fund.
The Brazilian research institute INPE presents the deforestation figures, using the monitoring tool Deter, which was introduced in 2015.
– The June figures are dramatic for the Amazon. Deforestation in the first six months of this year is 17 percent higher than the same period last year, says Tørris Jæger, Secretary General of the Rainforest Fund.
In 2020, 10,800 square kilometers of rainforest were cut down in Brazil. It was then the highest number in 12 years. The figures for June this year indicate that this year’s figures are likely to exceed this.
– We can not afford to break deforestation records every month and every year. Now all efforts must be made to stop this trend before it is too late, says Jæger.
The Amazon makes up about half of the world’s tropical rainforests, which are among the vegetation forms that are most efficient at capturing CO2.
After Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro came to power in 2019, deforestation in the Brazilian part of the Amazon has increased sharply. Bolsonaro has made it clear that he will focus on agriculture and other business activities in the rainforest, not environmental protection.
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