Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon broke a new record in 2022 with the loss of 10,573 square kilometers of forest, the equivalent of nearly 3,000 soccer fields, the Amazon Institute for Humans and Environment (Imazon) reported today.
This is the largest deforestation recorded by Amazon satellites since 2008, when they began monitoring the Amazon. With the 2022 result, the loss of native vegetation in the Amazon over the last 4 years was 35,193 square kilometers.
The period coincides with the mandate of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who has always shown his distrust of deforestation data.
The new government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva promised to give the issue priority.
Environment Minister Marina Silva, In the last month of the year there has been a rampant race for deforestation, with ranching, land speculation, illegal mining and deforestation opening the door to indigenous lands and protected areas.
This shows the scale of the new government’s challenge,” commented Carlos Souza Jr., Amazon’s surveillance coordinator.
About 80 percent of the area deforested in 2022 is on federally owned land (8,443 square kilometers).
Another 11 percent of the destroyed territory is under the jurisdiction of state governments (1,130 square kilometers).
According to the report, Pará (3,089 square kilometers) was the state that deforested the most in 2022, followed by Amazonas (2,270 square kilometers) and Mato Grosso (1,228 square kilometers).