Amazon deforestation has year’s sharpest drop in November

In November, the Amazon forest recorded the year’s biggest drop in deforestation. An Imazon survey, concluded with satellite monitoring, indicates that the loss of vegetation stood at 116 square kilometers (km²), 80 percent less than in 2022, when it reached 590 km². This was also the lowest level of deforestation reached in November since 2017.

From January to November, deforestation declined by 62 percent, from 10,286 km² in 2022 to 3,922 km², the lowest for the time span since 2017. The rate is still worrying, as it amounts to a daily 1,200 soccer fields.

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Imazon notes that Pará, Amazonas, and Mato Grosso are the states where with most cases from January to November this year. Despite having recorded significant drops in deforestation, the three states account for 74 percent of the devastated area. Rondônia, Acre, and Maranhão also recorded a reduction. Furthermore, the organization found an increase in deforestation in three states: Amapá (240%), Tocantins (33%), and Roraima (27%).

Imazon also monitors strides and setbacks in forest degradation caused by fires or logging. In November, for the second consecutive month, degradation increased in the Amazon, going from 739 km² in 2022 to 1,566 km² this year, up 112 percent from one year to the next.

The state most affected by degradation was Pará, which with 70 percent of this environmental damage in November, followed by Maranhão (12%), Amazonas (8%), Mato Grosso (6%), and Rondônia (4%). Throughout the year, degradation was also on the rise in February, March, May, and October.

From January to November, degradation also decreased. Environmental damage went from 9,127 km² in 2022 to 5,042 km² in 2023, down 45 percent. In this case, the reduction was smaller than deforestation. The driving factor is believed to be the fires in Amazonas and Pará, which alarmed the entire country, as the thick smoke reached municipalities like Manaus and Santarém.