Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon Falls 66% in July

Facts

• According to satellite data from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE), there were 193 sq miles (500 sq km) of deforestation in the nation's Amazon rainforest last July, down 66% from that month last year and its lowest level in six years.¹
• Compared to his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, who promoted mining indigenous lands while cutting resources to protect forests, newly elected Pres. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva welcomed the news. Lula has pledged to end deforestation by 2030.²
• The INPE's preliminary data showed deforestation has fallen a cumulative 42.5% from the same period in 2022, with data from last month showing a 34% drop during the first six months of 2023. Drops in June and July are promising as deforestation often spikes during the summer due to drier weather.¹
• During Lula's first presidential tenure from 2003 to 2010, deforestation rates in the Amazon dropped 80%, compared to nearly 5M acres (2M hectares) of deforestation in 2022, Bolsonaro's last year in office. Tropical primary tree cover loss also jumped 43% that year from 2015.³
• The new data comes as Lula is set to meet with leaders of Amazonian countries next week, with the president hoping to create a first-ever regional policy, including security along the borders and asking private businesses to help with the reforestation of 74M acres (30M hectares) of degraded land.¹
• Lula has already imposed more than $400M in fines for illegal logging in the first seven months of his presidency.²

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²BBC News, and ³DW.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Guardian. The new data, especially as it coincides with Lula's presidency, is a cause for optimism. Even despite the horrific environment Bolsonaro left him, the environmental policy success of Lula's government proves that the world can reverse deforestation if it has the will to do so. Every leader facing environmental issues now has a blueprint for success, and it's time for them to study and replicate it.
• Narrative B, as provided by Federalist. While Amazonian deforestation should be combatted, claims of its importance to oxygen production have been greatly exaggerated. As for the global crisis, there has actually been a net gain of 865K sq miles (2.2K sq km) of reforestation around the world over the past 35+ years. While countries like Brazil should work to protect their rainforest, left-leaning policies shouldn't overreact and risk destroying economic opportunity for the 30M people who live in that region.