Brazil: record deforestation in the Amazon in January

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon more than doubled in January compared to the same month last year (+ 108%), with more than 280 km2 deforested, a record, according to preliminary official data made public on Friday. It is the largest area deforested for a month in January since the DETER system was put into service in 2015, based on deforestation alerts identified by satellite, from the National Space Research Institute (INPE).

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For comparison, it amounted to 136 km2 in January 2019, 183 km2 in 2018 and 58 km2 in 2017. In mid-January, INPE data reported an 85% increase in deforestation in 2019 (9,166 km2), first year in office of far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, compared to the previous year (4,946 km2).

President Bolsonaro hit the headlines in August by trying to minimize the upsurge in forest fires that shocked the world. On August 2, the former president of the INPE, Ricardo Galvao, had been dismissed by the Bolsonaro government after being accused of exaggerating the scale of deforestation. In December, Mr. Galvao was chosen among the 10 most important scientists of the year by the British reference journal Nature.

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Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday endorsed a controversial bill that would allow mining exploration on indigenous lands, which would boost deforestation, according to many NGOs. The bill, which has yet to be approved in parliament, has been called a " dream " by the head of state, but a " nightmare " by indigenous leaders and environmental activists.