Deforestation in Amazon at decade high, surpasses 10,000 square km: Report

Deforestation in Amazon rainforest surpassed 10,000 square kilometres within a year, the highest in more than a decade, a revised official data said. The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) had earlier estimated 9,762 square kilometres of rainforest were cleared of trees from August 2018 to July 2019, an increase of 29.5 per cent. The revised statistics revealed that the jump in deforestation was even bigger with a 43 per cent increase in the deforestation and a total loss of 10,100 square kilometres. 

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Data generated by PRODES

As per the data generated by the Satellite Legal Amazon Deforestation Monitoring Project (PRODES), the total deforestation, between August 2017 and July 2018, in the world's largest rainforest was at 7,033 square kilometres. The mapping used Landsat or similar satellite images to record and quantify deforested areas larger than 6.25 hectares. PRODES considers deforestation the complete removal of primary forest cover by clearcut, regardless of the future use of these areas.

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The annual PRODES deforestation rate has been used as an indicator for proposing public policies and for evaluating the effectiveness of their implementations. PRODES spatial data are used for certification of agribusiness production chains, intergovernmental agreements such as the United Nations Conference on Climate Change. In September, global leaders agreed on funds worth $500 million, as announced by French President Emmanuel Macron, to protect the tropical rainforests including the Amazon which were destroyed by wildfires. Macron called upon every country to contribute towards the Green Climate Fund. 

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In September, the Human Rights Watch accused Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro of deforestation by giving green signal to illegal loggers to destroy the Amazon. "Through his words and actions, President Jair Bolsonaro has effectively given a green light to criminal groups that are destroying the Amazon and he has put defenders of the forest at serious risk," said Daniel Wilkinson, managing director of HRW's Americas division.

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(With Inputs from Agencies)