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Inpe data shows progress in devastation compared to April 2019. “Deforestation does not stay at home,” laments the biologist
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By Lu Sudré, in Brasil de Fato – Deforestation alerts in the Amazon rainforest, monitored by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), grew 63.75% in April, compared to the same month in 2019. According to the Deter system, alerts were issued for 405.6 km² this year. , while last year, in the same period, it was 247.7 km².
The increase comes as national attention focuses on the impacts of the new coronavirus pandemic. “The illegal logger, the land grabber, does not make a home office. They are not home in the pandemic. They are doing it there. It is not a matter of believing or not. The data is from Inpe, a very serious, recognized body for their excellence in generating information, and they are showing that deforestation is growing, “emphasizes the spokesperson of the campaign to defend the Amazon from Greenpeace Brazil Rômulo Batista
Only from January to April of this year, for example, 1,202 km² of forests have already been lost. The figure is 55% higher than that observed in the same period last year, of 773 km². In the monthly comparison between April and March of this year, the increase was 24.2%.
Batista points out that there is no burning or logging in the Amazon without economic interests behind it, and that these illegal activities also endanger the health of the local population during the pandemic. “There must be a very large flow of people entering the forest, in conservation units, on indigenous lands, which may be bringing the virus from large cities to this population, which is already more fragile due to isolation.” “
The cutting of trees follows the trail of the great fires that devastated the Amazon territory last year, as a result of the predatory action of large farmers and agribusiness sectors. However, with the current rate of destruction, the outlook is even more negative and the official rate is expected to be even higher in 2020.
The Greenpeace biologist warns that the next step, within the well-known protocol of illegal deforestation, is on fire. “They cut down the forest and then burned that area to destroy all the organic matter that’s there. This will coincide with the peak of the pandemic here in Amazonas. We have two main problems because the fires cause respiratory problems, due to smoke and ash.” “
:: Deforestation and burning champions in the Amazon are dominated by livestock and soy ::
According to Deter, from the period of August 2019 to April 2020, the alerts point to a deforested area of 5,483 km². The highest index in the last five years.
Batista supports that the current levels of deforestation are part of an environmental destruction project implemented from the first day of the Bolsonaro government. He mentions, for example, the reduction of the autonomy of environmental agencies that have the necessary powers to promote the protection and preservation of the Amazon.
The process was deepened last Wednesday (6), when the President promulgated a Law and Order Guarantee (GLO) action that empowers the Armed Forces over all operations against illegal deforestation and fires in the Legal Amazon.
With Decree No. 10,341, Bolsonaro made official the elimination of the autonomy of environmental protection agencies previously responsible for actions, such as Ibama and ICMBio, and placed them under the tutelage of the military. The GLO is valid from May 11 to June 10, in the border strip, on indigenous lands, in federal environmental conservation units and in other federal areas of the Legal Amazon.
Greenpeace spokesman criticizes attempt to vote on Provisional Measure (MP) 910, called by environmentalists as “MP da Grilagem”. The document was sent to Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), president of the Chamber, who has the prerogative to put the issue to a vote.
Expected to expire on the 19th of this month, the measure is subject to intense lobbying by the Parliamentary Agricultural Front (FPA) and may be included on the agenda of the legislative chamber next Monday (11).
For Batista, the MP is a “prize for those who have committed crimes”. “It makes it possible to legalize the land grabbing carried out until 2014 throughout the country, especially in the Amazon. Once again, the government is moving to be on the side of those who practice illegalities, who invade public lands and are against the logic of the rest of the world. ” We need to preserve the Amazon to ensure that the climate emergency we are experiencing does not worsen further. “
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