Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell to a nine-year low

The Brazilian Amazon has recorded the lowest level of deforestation in a decade, the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday, in line with its promise to fight deforestation, AFP reports, UNN writes.

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According to the National Institute of Space Research (INPE), deforestation has decreased by 30.6 percent year-on-year since August 2023.

During this time, 6288 square kilometers of forest were destroyed, which, according to INPE Director Gilvan Oliveira, was the lowest result in the last nine years.

Over the past century, the Amazon rainforest, which covers nearly 40 percent of South America, has lost about 20 percent of its area to deforestation due to the spread of agriculture and ranching, logging and mining, and urban sprawl.

Scientists warn that ongoing deforestation will cause the Amazon to reach a point where it emits more carbon than it absorbs, accelerating climate change.

Lula has promised to end illegal deforestation in the Amazon by 2030, but is facing an uphill battle against vested interests, the publication writes.

In addition to the Amazon, the destruction of the Cerrado, the world's most species-rich savannah located in central Brazil, has decreased by 25.7 percent or 8174 square kilometers, according to INPE.

Recently, two different biomes have been affected by historic drought and the subsequent spread of wildfires.

Mariana Napolitano, Strategic Director of the World Wildlife Fund in Brazil, called the latest data "good news" but emphasized that there is still much work to be done.

"We need to restore some of the forests that have been destroyed in recent decades, especially in the case of the Amazon, which is approaching the point of no return - losing its ability to regenerate," she warned.

Environment Minister Marina Silva hailed the "significant reduction" as part of Brazil's efforts to cut carbon emissions just days before attending the UN COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Climate Observatory, an environmental NGO group, said in a press release that "the numbers are a triumph for the country and a victory for Lula.

The situation with deforestation, according to the newspaper, has deteriorated sharply under Lula's right-wing predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, whose administration recorded that deforestation in the Amazon increased by 75 percent compared to the average of the previous decade.

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