The Brazilian Amazon forest has reached a positive historical milestone, as satellite monitoring data indicates that deforestation in the region has reached the lowest level ever recorded since the beginning of official measurements, representing a major advance for environmental conservation.
According to the annual survey conducted by the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), released on Friday (16th), approximately 3,335 square kilometers of vegetation were lost in the analyzed cycle. This figure demonstrates a notable reduction of 42% in devastation compared to the previous period. It is relevant to note that the previous positive record was set in 2012, while in the 90s, annual damage exceeded 30 thousand square kilometers.
This official mapping is carried out by the Program for Monitoring the Brazilian Amazon Forest by Satellite (PRODES), which uses the central months of the year to obtain high-definition images directly from space, taking advantage of the lowest incidence of cloud cover.
Sector specialists celebrated this historic achievement, as reported by Reuters, emphasizing that the combination of technological advances, constant oversight, and solid political decisions is fundamental to controlling the expansion of deforestation and mitigating the emission of pollutants.
The federal government has set the goal of eradicating deforestation by the year 2030. The issue gained greater relevance during the second round of the face-to-face elections between President Lula (PT) and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL). While the current administration focuses on resuming environmental objectives, the opposing candidate proposes concentrating oversight on combating organized crime in the Amazon, ensuring the protection of small farmers and extractive workers.
Additionally, the Brazilian Cerrado biome also showed encouraging results. The rate of destruction of native vegetation decreased by about 24% in the same interval, totaling 5,517 square kilometers. This also constitutes the lowest record of green area loss in the region since the start of historical monitoring in 2001.