novembro, 07 2024

By WWF-Brazil 

The annual deforestation rate in the Legal Amazon for 2024 was 6,288 km², a drop of 30.6% compared to the previous period. In the Cerrado, there was also a significant reduction of 25.7%, but deforestation remains at worrying levels in the biome, with a rate of 8,174 km².

The data comes from the Satellite Monitoring Project for Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PRODES), from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), a system responsible for measuring official deforestation rates. The figures refer to the period between August 2023 and July 2024 and were released this Wednesday, the 6th, at an event held in Brasília by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA), at which the Pact for the Cerrado was also signed.

In the Amazon, after successive increases between 2018 and 2021, deforestation rates have been falling since 2022. This downward trend, if it becomes permanent, could contribute to improving Brazil's image in an international market that is increasingly demanding in relation to sustainable production.

This recent reduction in deforestation is related to efforts to control forest destruction carried out since 2023, with the launch of initiatives such as the creation of a specific federal secretariat for deforestation control and the resumption of the Amazon Deforestation Prevention and Control Plan (PPCDAM, in Portuguese), a historically effective tool in reducing devastation. In contrast, the federal administration in the previous period had promoted an unprecedented dismantling of environmental control and governance bodies - which resulted in annual rates above 10,000 km² between 2019 and 2022.

“A significant drop in deforestation in the Amazon for the third consecutive year is undoubtedly good news, but it is not enough given the scale of the climate and biodiversity preservation challenges we face,” stated Mariana Napolitano, strategy director at WWF-Brazil.

According to her, it is important to remember that 2024 was a year of several climate tragedies in Brazil - and to avoid the worst scenarios of extreme events in the country, such as what happened in Rio Grande do Sul state and the wildfires in the Pantanal, it is necessary to ensure that the decline in deforestation is maintained and accelerated in the coming years.

“The best available science already warns that we need to reforest part of what has been destroyed in recent decades, especially in the case of the Amazon, which is heading towards the tipping point , losing its capacity for regeneration,” said Napolitano.

The area cleared between August 2023 and July 2024 in the Amazon was the lowest in the last 9 years in the biome. Rondônia, with a drop of 62.5%, Mato Grosso, with a drop of 45.1%, Amazonas, with a drop of 29% and Pará, with a drop of 28.4%, were some of the states that reduced deforestation in the period. The states that led the destruction in the period were Pará, Amazonas and Mato Grosso, with 2,362 km², 1,143 km² and 1,124 km² cleared, respectively. The largest rise in estimated deforestation was in the state of Roraima with a 53.5% increase compared to the previous period.

Daniel Silva, a conservation specialist at WWF-Brazil, warns about the recent attacks on the Soy Moratorium in the biome. “While we can celebrate three consecutive years of deforestation in the Amazon, we should be concerned for the maintenance of this trend. We are witnessing an unprecedented attack on the Soy Moratorium, which was one of the most effective instruments for reducing the speed of deforestation in the Amazon, with international recognition,” said Silva. 

According to him, the success of the recent resumption of the fight against deforestation deserves to be recognised, but it still does not guarantee the sustainable future we need. “We are seeing an increase in the use of pesticides for large-scale deforestation in the Pantanal. We are seeing the advance of destruction in the Cerrado, where half of the natural vegetation has already been lost, putting at risk areas critical to the health of the springs of eight important river basins in our country, which are located in this biome.”

In the Cerrado, although deforestation has fallen for the first time since 2019, the devastation remains at high levels and the situation remains critical. A year ago, the federal government released the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Cerrado (PPCerrado), but the initiative is still being implemented. Actions to reduce deforestation in the biome are also limited by other factors: unlike what happens in the Amazon, in the Cerrado, the devastation is concentrated in private areas, and the legislation is more permissive regarding deforestation.

The states that deforested the most in the Cerrado were Maranhão (2,487 km²), Tocantins (2,019 km²) and Piauí (1,014 km²). All of them belong to the so-called Matopiba region, the country's newest agricultural frontier, highlighting the relationship between the expansion of commodity production and environmental destruction. The states of Bahia and Maranhão saw reductions of 63.3% and 15.1%, respectively.

“The Cerrado, the savannah with the greatest biodiversity on the planet, is at risk of suffering irreparable losses. The fauna and flora of this biome, which are essential for climate regulation and the preservation of several species, are under constant threat,” commented Daniel Silva.

According to him, the advance of deforestation is not only an environmental problem but also a threat to water security and the quality of life of the populations that depend on these ecosystems. The devastation also harms productive activities, generating an additional cost to climate change, with increasingly frequent crop failures.

“That is why it is essential to strengthen monitoring, adopt policies to encourage sustainable land use, and promote the engagement of all social actors, especially those in the agricultural sector, in order to ensure that the Cerrado continues to be preserved for future generations,” said Silva.

Mariana Napolitano highlighted the importance of remembering that the Amazon and Cerrado are connected biomes that are crucial to the availability of freshwater in the rest of the country, on which we depend not only for our water security but also for energy security. “It is therefore urgent that the preservation of these biomes is finally seen in an integrated manner, with coordinated policies that have an impact on both territories,” she said.