EcoWatch
Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k Subscribe Subscribe
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
      • Top Companies By State
        • California Solar Companies
        • Texas Solar Companies
        • New York Solar Companies
        • Florida Solar Companies
        • See All States
      • Top Incentives By State
        • California Solar Incentives
        • Texas Solar Incentives
        • New York Solar Incentives
        • Florida Solar Incentives
        • See All States
      • Solar Panel Costs By State
        • Solar Panel Costs in California
        • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
        • Solar Panel Costs in New York
        • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
        • See All States
      • Value of Solar by State
        • Is Solar Worth It In California?
        • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
        • Is Solar Worth It New York?
        • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
        • See All States
      • Company Reviews
        • Tesla Solar Review
        • Sunrun Solar Review
        • SunPower Solar Review
        • Vivint Solar Review
        • See All Companies
      • Common Solar Questions
        • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
        • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
        • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
        • Can You Finance Solar?
        • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
        • Payback On Solar Panels?
      • Solar Resources
        • Interactive Solar Calculator
        • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
        • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
        • Tesla Solar Roof Review
        • Cheapest Solar Panels
      • Companies Compared
        • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs SunPower
        • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
        • SunPower vs ADT Solar
EcoWatch
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
    • Go Solar Today
    • Top Companies By State
      • California Solar Companies
      • Texas Solar Companies
      • New York Solar Companies
      • Florida Solar Companies
      • See All States
    • Top Incentives By State
      • California Solar Incentives
      • Texas Solar Incentives
      • New York Solar Incentives
      • Florida Solar Incentives
      • See All States
    • Solar Panel Costs By State
      • Solar Panel Costs in California
      • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
      • Solar Panel Costs in New York
      • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
      • See All States
    • Value of Solar by State
      • Is Solar Worth It In California?
      • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
      • Is Solar Worth It New York?
      • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
      • See All States
    • Company Reviews
      • Tesla Solar Review
      • Sunrun Solar Review
      • SunPower Solar Review
      • Vivint Solar Review
      • See All Companies
    • Common Solar Questions
      • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
      • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
      • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
      • Can You Finance Solar?
      • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
      • Payback On Solar Panels?
    • Solar Resources
      • Interactive Solar Calculator
      • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
      • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
      • Tesla Solar Roof Review
      • Cheapest Solar Panels
    • Companies Compared
      • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs SunPower
      • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
      • SunPower vs ADT Solar

The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    EcoWatch
    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    Home Policy

    Amazon Deforestation Drops 33% in Lula’s First Six Months

    By: Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
    Published: July 7, 2023
    Edited by Chris McDermott
    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon
    Aerial view of the city of Parauapebas surrounded by Amazon rainforest, in Para state, Brazil
    The city of Parauapebas surrounded by Amazon rainforest, in Para state, Brazil on May 17, 2023. MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP via Getty Images
    Why you can trust us

    Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

    From January to June of this year — the first six months of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s presidential term — deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon has fallen 33.6 percent, new government satellite data shows, as The Associated Press reported.

    Lula’s stricter environmental rules led to 1,023 square miles of cleared rainforest during that time frame, compared with the same period in 2022 when 1,544 square miles were cleared under Jair Bolsonaro.

    It was the lowest level of deforestation for the period in four years, reported Reuters.

    More From EcoWatch
    • What Is the Federal Solar Tax Credit (ITC)?
    • What Is Community Solar?
    • How to Fix Underperforming Solar Panels

    “The effort of reversing the curve of growth has been reached. That is a fact: we reversed the curve; deforestation isn’t increasing,” said João Paulo Capobianco, the environment ministry’s executive secretary, during a presentation in Brasília, as The Associated Press reported.

    The deforestation rate for June — the beginning of the dry season, a time when it tends to go up — was down 41 percent.

    During his campaign, Lula promised to stop the destruction of the rainforest that had become a hallmark of Bolsonaro’s presidency.

    The peak period for forest clearing and fires in the Amazon is from July to October.

    “July tends to have an explosion in deforestation,” Capobianco said, as reported by Reuters.

    According to the Rainforest Trust, the Amazon rainforest produces about one-fifth of the planet’s oxygen. It also stores a good portion of the world’s carbon. But when forests are cleared, that carbon is released into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.

    “Bottom line, we are prioritizing environmental law enforcement,” Jair Schmitt, head of environmental protection at Brazil’s federal environmental agency Ibama, told The Associated Press.

    Schmitt said there has been a personnel shortage, as many Ibama agents retired during Bolsonaro’s term and weren’t replaced in an effort to remove environmental officials.

    Though Lula has made a commitment to bring the number of agents back up, it is currently the lowest in 24 years, with only 150 available for service.

    In some cases, the owner of a specific piece of land that has been deforested can be identified by comparing land records with satellite data, and sanctions can be imposed, Schmitt said.

    One type of deterrent is for cattle that have been raised illegally to be seized in embargoed areas.

    Ibama head Rodrigo Agostinho said the agency imposed embargoes on 2,086 areas in the first half of 2023, a 111 percent jump from the average of the previous four years.

    June of this year saw the most fires in the Amazon rainforest since 2007, an increase Schmitt attributed to deforestation and forest clearing in the last six months of 2022.

    “It’s very positive, but we continue to have very high levels of deforestation,” said Daniel Silva, an analyst at nonprofit WWF-Brasil, as Reuters reported.

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Cristen is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. She holds a JD and an Ocean & Coastal Law Certificate from University of Oregon School of Law and an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. She is the author of the short story collection The Smallest of Entryways, as well as the travel biography, Ernest’s Way: An International Journey Through Hemingway’s Life.
      Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

      Read More

      Green Groups Skeptical as Africa Climate Summit Raises Hundreds of Millions in Carbon Credits
      An initiative at Africa’s first climate summit to boost production
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
      Just 12% of People in the U.S. Consume Over 50% of the Country's Beef, Study Finds
      A new study has found that only about 12% of
      By Paige Bennett
      'We Have to Act Fast': 2 Degrees of Warming Could Cause 1 Billion Deaths Over Next Century
      A new study by Joshua Pearce of London’s Western University
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

        By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

        Latest Articles

        • Green Groups Skeptical as Africa Climate Summit Raises Hundreds of Millions in Carbon Credits
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          September 7, 2023
        • Google Maps Adds Tools to Track Solar Potential, Air Quality and Pollen
          by Paige Bennett
          September 7, 2023
        • ‘To Dye For’: The Toxic Evolution of Fast Fashion by Alden Wicker
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          September 6, 2023
        • Nonprofit Buys Millionaire’s Rhino-Breeding Program With Eyes on Rewilding
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          September 6, 2023
        • Scientists Find Direct Link Between Polar Bear Cub Survival Rates and Human-Caused Carbon Emissions
          by Paige Bennett
          September 5, 2023
        • Just 12% of People in the U.S. Consume Over 50% of the Country’s Beef, Study Finds
          by Paige Bennett
          September 1, 2023
        • Sequencing Project Helps Conservation Efforts for Critically Endangered Kākāpō
          by Paige Bennett
          August 30, 2023
        • Category 3 Idalia Strongest Hurricane to Hit Big Bend, Florida on Record
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          August 30, 2023
        EcoWatch

        The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

          • Climate Climate
          • Animals Animals
          • Health + Wellness Health + Wellness
          • Insights + Opinion Insights + Opinion
          • Adventure Adventure
          • Oceans Oceans
          • Business Business
          • Solar Solar
          • About EcoWatch
          • Contact EcoWatch
          • EcoWatch Reviews
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Learn About Solar Energy
          • Learn About Deregulated Energy
          • EcoWatch UK
          Follow Us
          Facebook 573k
          Twitter 238k
          Instagram 37k
          Subscribe Subscribe

          Experts for a healthier planet and life.

          Mentioned by:
          Learn more
          • Privacy Policy
          • Terms of Use
          • Cookie Preferences
          • Do Not Sell My Information
          © 2023 EcoWatch. All Rights Reserved.