Satellite imagery released earlier this week provided further evidence that deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon region accelerated dramatically this year. Between August 2007 and July 2008, 8,147 square kilometers of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared, according to the country’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE). This is an area more than twice the size of the U.S. state of Rhode Island.
The expanse of deforested land is about 69 percent greater than last year, when 4,820 square kilometers were removed. Last year’s deforestation numbers, however, were the lowest since recording began in the 1970s. The amount of forest cleared this year, while still substantial, is also less than previous years.
The diverse Amazon forest contains one in ten of the world’s known species and enough vegetation to absorb an estimated 10 percent of atmospheric carbon dioxide, not including oceanic carbon sinks. Since the 1970s, about 20 percent of the Amazon forest has been cut, leaving mainly open fields with little diversity in its place.
Illegal deforestation reached its peak this year between August 2007 and April, when satellite images observed about 84 percent of the year’s deforestation.
Landowners often cut deeper into the forest to make room for cattle ranches and soybean farms. Both products are experiencing a boom in demand, as Brazilian beef surges in global popularity and soybean prices rise due to global meat consumption and biofuels production.
Industry groups also say they are taking steps to encourage sustainable development. The Brazilian Vegetable Oils Industry Association, a soy industry group, has agreed to ban until July 2009 the purchase of soybeans produced on forestlands cleared after 2006. The government is negotiating similar agreements for saw mills, slaughterhouses, and steel mills that operate in the Brazilian Amazon, according to Mongabay.com.
– from worldwatch
Govt policies cannot protect the forest. Only people’s decisions can change this. So please try to reduce your consumption.