By Jake Spring
SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest declined in the 12 months through July 2022, according to government data released on Wednesday, but remained far above the average over the past decade.
The destruction fell 11.27% from a year earlier to 11,568 square kilometers (4,466 square miles), according to annual data from Brazilian space research agency Inpe. That was still more Amazon deforestation than any year from 2009 to 2020.
The official annual deforestation measure produced by Inpe’s PRODES satellite monitoring program is far more accurate than its rapid alert DETER system, which publishes weekly data.
The PRODES report released on Wednesday provides the benchmark against which Brazil measures whether it is meeting its environmental and climate commitments.
President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has pledged to reverse soaring deforestation under right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who rolled back environmental enforcement.
But Lula may face an uphill battle to demonstrate lower deforestation in his first year. This year’s PRODES figure extends only to July, before record-high deforestation measured from August to October by the rapid alert system. Those months will instead be reflected in the first annual PRODES data released under Lula in 2023.
(Reporting by Jake SpringEditing by Brad Haynes)
