The Brazilian Amazon is on pace to see forest clearing hit a record low this year, government figures show. Officials credit the decline to stepped-up enforcement against illegal deforestation.
Brazil tracks yearly deforestation starting in August and ending in July. From August through the end of January, the Amazon has seen just 516 square miles of forest cleared, according to satellite data. That is the lowest figure for this period since 2014.
The sharp decline reflects a crackdown on illicit clearing by miners, loggers, and farmers under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who returned to office in 2023. Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva said she expects the rate of forest clearing to hit its lowest level on record this year, if trends continue.
The recent drop in deforestation is putting a sizable dent in Brazil’s emissions, which last year dropped by their biggest margin since 2009. To protect the Amazon and fight warming, Brazil is aiming for net zero deforestation by the end of this decade.
New research shows how the loss of rainforest is fueling worsening heat and drought in Brazil. That’s because trees draw up water from their roots and release it through their leaves. As water evaporates, temperatures drop. But the loss of rainforest is disrupting this process, leading to local warming.
Compared with dense rainforest, regions that have seen heavy forest clearing are around 5 degrees F (3 degrees C) warmer during the dry season, a recent study found. And because the water unleashed by trees also fuels downpours, deforested regions see around 25 percent less rain.
Brazilian farmers are heavily dependent on rain generated by the Amazon. The water needed to feed a single soybean crop is equal to the output of roughly 18 square feet of rainforest, and each bit of rainforest cleared has ramifications for growers. Already, the clearing of forest has trimmed yields of soy and maize.
For a new study, researchers totted the total contribution of the Brazilian Amazon to agriculture. They found the rainfall generated yearly by the rainforest is worth roughly $20 billion to farmers in surrounding regions.
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