SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest fell by more than half in November from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, with destruction hitting its lowest level for the month in at least eight years.
According to preliminary satellite data from space research agency INPE, 201.1 square kilometers (77.65 square miles) of the world’s largest rainforest were cleared last month, a 63.7% drop from November 2022.
The figures come after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reiterated at the COP28 climate summit this month his country’s target of ending illegal deforestation by 2030, while touting progress shown in data from his first year in office.
The preliminary INPE data shows Amazon deforestation dropped 50.5% in the first 11 months of 2023 to 4,977 square km, the lowest since 2018.
Lula has staked his international reputation on reducing deforestation after destruction in the rainforest surged under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.
“Brazil is willing to lead by example,” Lula told COP28. “We have adjusted our climate goals, which are now more ambitious than those of many developed countries, drastically reduced deforestation in the Amazon and will bring it to zero by 2030.”
Deforestation and fires in the Amazon – which is now in its rainy season – usually spike between July and September, when the weather turns drier.
Despite the progress on preserving the Amazon this year, the region has grappled with a record-breaking drought, the impacts of which scientists say may last until 2026.
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Brad Haynes and Mark Potter)
