Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon reached a record level during the first half of 2022, the INPE national space agency said Friday.

The world's largest tropical rainforest lost 3,750 square kilometers (1,450 square miles) of jungle since the beginning of the year, the worst numbers for that period since record-keeping began in 2016.

The previous worst figure of 3,605 square kilometers was set last year.

The new figure does not even include the final six days of June.

This year has seen the worst June in 15 years for forest fires.

Monthly records were also beaten in January and February, when deforestation is usually lower, and in April.

INPE satellites identified more than 2,500 fires in the Amazon last month, the largest number since more than 3,500 were recorded in June 2007, and an 11 percent increase over June 2021.

More than 7,500 fires have been recorded since the start of the year, another 17 percent increase on 2021 and the worst numbers since 2010.

"The dry season has barely begun in the Amazon and already we're beating environmental destruction records," said Cristiane Mazzetti, from Greenpeace Brazil.

Environmentalists and opposition figures accuse the government of President Jair Bolsonaro of implementing policies that encourage big businesses to damage the environment.

"The impact of this negligence will be the increasing loss of the resilience of these surroundings, not to mention the damage done to local communities and health," said Mariana Napolitano, of the Brazilian World Wildlife Fund.

Bolsonaro has encouraged mining and farming activity in protected areas.

Critics also accuse him of supporting impunity for gold prospectors, farmers and logging traffickers involved in illegal deforestation.

Last year, the main government environmental protection body spent only 41 percent of its surveillance budget, according to the Climate Observatory NGO.

Related Links
Forestry News - Global and Local News, Science and Application

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Funeral held in Brazil for slain British journalist
Rio De Janeiro (AFP) June 26, 2022
Grieving family and friends paid their last respects Sunday to British journalist Dom Phillips, who was murdered in the Amazon earlier this month along with an Indigenous expert. Phillips, 57, and Bruno Pereira, 41, were shot dead while returning from an expedition in a remote region of the rainforest that is plagued by drug trafficking, illegal gold mining and fishing. "Dom will be cremated in the country he loved, Brazil, which he had chosen as home," his widow, Brazilian Alessandra Sampaio, t ... read more