November registers a 19% drop in deforestation in the Amazon

Deforestation in the Amazon Region registered a decrease of 19%, compared to the same period in 2020. Data from the Deter-B system (Deforestation Detection in Real Time), by the Space Research Institute (Inpe), were presented this Tuesday (14) by the Minister of the Environment, Joaquim Leite.

During a press conference, accompanied by the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Anderson Torres, Leite highlighted that the month of November registered the smallest area of deforestation alerts in the Amazon since the beginning of the historical series that began in 2016.

There were 249 square kilometers (km²) of Amazonian forests with destruction notices. From January to November, deforestation has accumulated 8,142 km². Even without the December data, this is already the third highest annual accumulated, only behind that registered in 2020 and 2019.

In Joaquim Leite’s assessment, the drop in deforestation alerts in November is the result of an integrated work between the Ministries of Environment, Defense and Justice, environmental agencies, the Federal Police and the National Public Security Force.

The area deforested in the Legal Amazon between August 2020 and July 2021 was 13,235 km², an increase of 22% compared to the previous period.

Torres has been in charge of the Justice portfolio since March when he replaced André Mendonça. Joaquim Leite was appointed Environment Minister in June, after Ricardo Salles resigned. By saying he could not comment on previous administrations, Anderson Torres celebrated the results. “I’m talking about our management. “We are coming to show that the work that has been done since our arrival in the government and the Ministry of Environment and Justice, they are already bringing positive results. This is a fact”, he highlighted.

“The numbers now, for this new period, August, September, October, November, show a reduction of 12%, this means that we are in the right direction in relation to the numbers for us to reach the goal, which is to eliminate illegal deforestation until 2028”, he added.

The Minister of Environment also promised stronger government action in relation to environmental crimes. “The results are starting to show, in the last four months, and we must walk more forcefully, in a more integrated way, with the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of the Environment, to achieve the goals that we all want. The federal government will act decisively in relation to environmental crimes”, guaranteed Leite.

Text translated using artificial intelligence.