The Brazilian Amazon lost 11,968 km2 of forest due to logging and fires from August 2007 to July 2008, as the planet’s “green lungs” continue to retreat under the pressure of illegal deforestation.
Deforestation from August 2007 to July 2008 increased by 3.8 percent compared to the previous year, according to data released on Friday by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). The states most affected by deforestation are Pará, which lost 5,180 km2 of forest due to increasing exploitation of forests, and the major soybean producer Mato Grosso, which lost 3,259 km2.
Brazil has managed to reduce deforestation by 59 percent over the last three years after a record 27,423 km2 of forest was destroyed from August 2003 to July 2004. In the last year, an area the size of half of Salvador, Slovenia, or Israel was destroyed, representing an increase of 3.8 percent compared to the same period the previous year (11,524 km2). The government warned at the beginning of the year that there was a significant increase in deforestation and launched a new series of countermeasures, particularly by raising fines. (Hina)
