An area of ​​the Brazilian Amazon under threat from deforestation halved in 2023 after a change of government in the South American country and was at its lowest level since 2018, according to official data published this Friday.

Last year, the first year of the new UN mandate, deforestation affected a total of 5,153 square kilometers. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, up from 10,278 square kilometers in 2022, the last time under far-right Jair Bolsonaro.

The area, on alert for vegetation clearance in 2023, has returned to levels similar to those in 2018, before Bolsonaro took office, when 4951 square kilometers affected, According to the National Institute of Space Research based on satellite images.

December, deforestation affected 177 square kilometers, also the lowest level since 67 kilometers recorded in 2018.

Despite the decline in deforestation in the Amazon, vegetation destruction has intensified in the Cerrado, a tropical savanna stretching across the interior.

Notifications for entering this ecosystem They grew from 5,463 square kilometers in 2022 to 7,852 in 2023.a 44% increase and the worst data since the government began collecting it in 2018.

This is also the third year in a row that the area affected has increased, although the biggest jump occurred last year.

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Lula governmentcommitted to achieving zero illegal deforestation by 2030 and strengthened resources to enforce environmental standards after lax enforcement during the Bolsonaro years accelerated the clearing of native vegetation.

EFE