Brazilian Government Press Release on the Deforestation of Amazon

Issued on May 20 , 2005

The federal government today released figures regarding deforestation in the Amazon region. A further 26,130 square kilometers of forest were lost in the year up to August 1st 2004 – an area similar to that of the Brazilian state of Alagoas. The figure was produced by INPE (National Institute for Space Research) on the basis of 103 satellite images covering 93% of the so-called ‘Deforestation Arc’, the area in which most of the trees are being cut down. Areas in which cloud cover made measurements impossible were assumed to have suffered the same rate of deforestation as the rest of the Amazon. There was a margin of error of 5%, and a revised figure will be released by the end of this year.

The states in which most of the deforestation occurred, and which contain the municipalities with the fastest rates of increase in tree-felling, were Mato Grosso and Rondônia. Mato Grosso alone accounted for 48% of deforestation according to INPE.

However, other states in the Amazon region registered falling rates of deforestation. In Pará, the rate fell by 2%; in Amazonas, by 39%; Acre, 18%; Maranhão, 26%; and Tocantins, 44%. The state of Roraima suffered no deforestation at all in the year up to August 1st 2004. According to environment minister Marina Silva, the lower rates were the result of actions on the part of these federal government, and are due also to be achieved in Mato Grosso and Rondonia over the 2004-05 period. She said, “The figures are very high, but we are combating this problem with effective measures that will have a lasting impact.”

Since 2003 the federal government has taken a series of measures to create a more sustainable development model for the Amazon region. In 2003 there was a 68% increase in large-scale inspection-operations, and a 54% increase in the number of infractions registered by IBAMA.

The year 2004 saw the start of integrated actions undertaken by the federal police, federal highway police and labor ministry. There was a further 83% in registered infractions, 73,000 cubic meters of illegally-logged timber were confiscated, and six anti-deforestation combat bases (there will eventually be nineteen) were created.

In 2005, the combat bases continue to be created, and 52,000 cubic meters of illegal timber have been confiscated so far. Other measures which will slow the rate of illegal logging are the Sustainable BR-163 Plan and the Management of Public Forests Bill. Marina Silva said, “We are going to intensify actions to combat illegal logging in the most critical regions. We have to create a culture in which all productive activities, in all sectors, are sustainable. This is essential for the future of the region.”

The Lula government has also broken records in terms of the creation of environmentally-protected areas, 7.7 million hectares of reserves having been established in the Amazon since 2003, of which 5.5 million hectares are in the state of Pará. By the end of 2006 the government intends to have created a “barrier” against deforestation and the uncontrolled advance of the agricultural frontier.

Revised figures for Amazon deforestation in 2002-03 were also released by INPE today. Previously estimated at 23,750 square kilometers, the new figure is 24,597 square kilometers.

Marina Silva has also announced that measures to prevent deforestation are due to become more effective with the installation of Deter, a system using images from the Modis satellite which performs more frequent “sweeps” of the Amazon region.

Source: Environment Ministry, May 19 2005

NOTA À IMPRENSA

Emitida em 20 de maio de 2005