Deforestation in Amazon rainforest marks highest rate of decade: Report

According to the latest report released by Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research, there was a tremendous increase in the rate of deforestation of the Amazon rainforests located in Northern Brazil. According to the officials, the figures recorded to nearly 10,000 square kilometres this year till July 2019 which marks the highest rate of deforestation of the decade.

Amazon rainforest monitered using satellite

The Brazilian Amazon Rainforest Deforestation Monitoring by Satellite is performed under the PRODES project where the clear areas of the Amazon forest are monitored using the satellite. The INPE produces annual data for deforestation since 1988, which is used by the Brazilian Government to implement various policies. This year, there was an increment of 29.5 per cent of deforestation after the Amazon fires burned and destroyed a major part of the rainforest.

READ: Bolsonaro Accused For Illegal Deforestation In Amazon Forest

Data collected by PRODES project

The data collected by the Satellite revealed that 9,762 square kilometres (3,770 square miles) were cleared of trees, which was the highest since 2008. The PRODES project used the  LANDSAT class satellite to capture the images of the legal Amazon area, which help in minimizing the cloud cover problem and help in ensuring interoperability criteria. The officials reported that the Para region suffered the worst deforestation out of the nine regions that together make up the Amazon in Brazil. There was a total of 4,000 square kilometres of land that suffered deforestation. 

READ: NASA Reveals Satellite View Of Devastating Amazon Rain Forest Wildfire

Deforestation doubled as compared to previous year

The officials said that relatively the Amazon rainforest data showed double the amount of clearing in the first eight months of the year, compared with the same period in 2018.  The Bolsonaro regime was accused of dismantling the environment protection laws that led to an increase in deforestation. According to Cristiane Mazzetti, a Greenpeace campaigner in Brazil, Bolsonaro's government is neglecting all the work that has been performed by the previous governments to enhance the environment protection laws. 

READ: As Amazon Rainforest Burns, Brazil's President's Shocker

Human Rights accuses Bolsonaro

Human Rights Watch has accused Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro of giving a "green light" to illegal loggers to destroy the Amazon and failing to protect those defending the world's largest rainforest. Bolsonaro, whose anti-environment rhetoric and policies have been widely blamed for a spike in fires and land clearing in the Amazon this year, has promised to open up the remote region to more development even as he faces growing international criticism.

READ: Brazil Reports Record Breaking Wildfires In Amazon Rainforest