03/02/2010 - Data released
on Tuesday (February 2) by the National
Institute for Space Research (INPE) indicate
a drop of 72% in the Amazon deforestation
for October and November 2009, compared
to the same period in 2008. According to
the system of satellite monitoring, which
measures the area deforested in the Amazon
in real time, in October deforestation was
175 km² and, in November, 72 km².
The presence of clouds did not allow the
satellite observation in December.
To Minc, the successive
decreases in deforestation rates can lead
Brazil to a reduction of more than 95% in
the deforested area in 2020, in comparison
to the previous decade, beating the government's
goal, which is 80% less deforestation, according
to the National Plan on Climate Change.
The minister says that
deforestation in the Amazon is under control.
To him, the proof of this is that the numbers
reported in these two months represent "a
significant fall over the lowest deforestation
ever registered and in a moment of sharp
rebound in the economy". In the last
evaluation of the Prodes system (which records
the deforestation in the period of one year),
between August 2008 and July 2009 the lowest
deforestation rate of the last 21 years
was registered.
In October, Pará
was the state with the largest deforested
area (67km²), followed by Mato Grosso
(41km²), Amazonas (32km²) and
Rondônia (14 km²). In November,
Pará continued in first, with 40
km², followed by Maranhão (18
km²), Mato Grosso (8 km²) and
Rondônia (2 km²).
In Minc's opinion, the
drop in deforestation is the direct result
of coordinated actions carried out by the
Interministerial Commission to Combat Crime
and Environmental Violations, which is intensifying
the the fight against environmental crimes
in the region.
According to Minc, now
is also the time to intensify actions that
lead to sustainable alternatives for the
population living in the Amazon. He mentioned
the "Green Arc Operation" and
the Amazon Fund, which will finance sustainable
projects. "With this we want to show
that the population can live in dignity
without destroying the Amazon biome, keeping
the forest standing", he said.
