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Fire in the Amazon region (here in the Brazilian state of Pará)
Photo: Andre Penner / dpa
The Brazilian state of Amazonas is almost half the size of Germany.
A large part of the region's rainforest lies in it, and the vast area has been monitored from space for years.
Reliable data on the state of the planet's green lungs is important.
Space agencies such as NASA keep an eye on the area, but the National Institute for Space Research in Brazil (Inpe) is in charge of the inventory from space.
And finally, the reports from the experts there were anything but encouraging: There had already been dramatic reports in June and July about the high number of fires in the region.
This month, too, the satellite data confirm a tragedy: the Inpe images show no fewer than 7,766 fires for the state of Amazonas between August 1 and August 30.
This is the highest value for this month since the survey began in 1998.
The dry season in this region runs from July to around November.
August is usually considered to be one of the driest months.
However, the Amazon rainforest does not catch fire on its own.
According to experts, most of the fires are started to provide land for agriculture and livestock.
Many burns lie along the roads through the area.
The products made with the help of the cleared areas are exported to various countries, including Europe.
A recent study showed that around 17 percent of the soy used to feed the animals of Brazilian beef exports comes from former rainforest and savannah areas that have been illegally deforested.
Environmentalists accuse Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been in office since January 1, 2019, of accepting the fires.
Bolsonaro is a proponent of the economic exploitation of the Amazon region and has deliberately weakened the environmental and control authorities.
Hack around the line of government
Several Brazilian companies recently campaigned for the government to pay more attention to the protection of the rainforest.
The main reason for this was the pressure from international shareholders.
The government then committed to police operations against illegal loggers, more regulation and additional resources for environmental protection.
Experts were skeptical after the announcements in July.
The restraint then seemed appropriate.
Last Friday, the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment announced that all operations to combat illegal logging in the nine Amazonian states as well as the fires in the world's largest marshland, the Pantanal, and in other regions of the country would be suspended from this week - for budget reasons.
Then, however, Vice-President Hamilton Mourão described the corresponding statements as premature.
The corresponding funds had been released, it was said in the episode.
The projects could go on normally.
Although that apparently hardly seems to limit the fire clearance, as the current data suggest.
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chs / dpa
