November 30, 2022

Manaus – 11.568 km² of the Amazon was deforested between July 2021 and August 2022, according to the annually released data from the Brazilian National Research Institute INPE PRODES. Over the past four years, a total of 45,586 km² of the forest was destroyed, marking the end of Bolsonaro’s government with a legacy of destruction.

“The past four years have been marked by Bolsonaro government’s anti-environment and anti-Indigenous agenda, and by the irreparable damage caused to the Amazon, biodiversity, and to the rights and lives of Indigenous People and Traditional Communities. The new government has been signaling its commitment to the global climate agenda, but to fulfill his promises, president-elect Luis Inácio Lula da Silva has serious challenges ahead. Reverting the destruction from the past administration and taking meaningful action to protect the Amazon and the climate must be a priority of the new government.” said André Freitas, Amazon Campaign Coordinator for Greenpeace Brazil.

Deforestation was concentrated in the southern region of the Amazon also known as AMACRO, an area that has been targeted for the expansion of the agribusiness, based on a development model that heavily depends on the destruction of the forest. This expansion is opening a new frontier of deforestation and pushing agriculture closer to the largest preserved part of the Amazon, which is vital for Brazil and the world’s climate and biodiversity. 

From July 2021 to August 2022, 372,519 hectares of Public Forests were deforested, and 28,248 hectares of Indigenous lands, indicating the advance of illegal activities such as invasion and land-grabbing in protected areas. 

“To start rebuilding the climate agenda in Brazil, it is fundamental for the new government to have a robust plan to control deforestation and fight mining and land grabbing by resuming the creation of protected areas, respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples and holding those responsible for environmental crimes accountable. It is essential that the future government promotes an ecological transition that establishes a predominant economy in the Amazon that can live with the forest standing and that brings real, just development to the region,” added Freitas.