Deforestation Slows in Brazil's Amazon Rainforest
Some good news you should know about, and a reminder that who we vote for is everything when it comes to the protection of our natural world.
As the title suggests, we’re excited to broadcast that Brazil’s Amazon deforestation rates dropped by 33.6% in the first half of 2023! Yay!!! At 2,649 square kms, this is the lowest level in four years, and is driven by environmental crackdowns by newly elected President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Very welcome news for us all, as, according to the World Resources Institute, the Earth’s forests currently absorb up to one-third of our carbon emissions each year.
However, Brazil still has a LOT of work to do to reduce its deforestation impacts; with its loss of rainforest in six months equivalent to three times the size of New York City.
Lula has high hopes for Brazil, promising when he took office in January to end deforestation by 2030. In a detailed list of policy measures, Lula pledged to strengthen enforcement against environmental crimes, promote ‘green economic development,’ and, overall, protect and restore Brazil’s forests.
Lula also recognised the key role of Indigenous peoples as guardians of our rivers and forests: “No one knows our forests better or is better able to defend them than those who have been here since time immemorial."
Brazilian skydiver Luigi Cani clearly got the memo, scattering more than 100 million seeds on one day this year in a remote deforested area of the Amazon region.
WHAAT?!
It was an especially tricky task - Luigi had to scatter the seeds at an ideal height (around 6,500 feet above) to ensure that they were evenly distributed.
These seeds were from 27 species of trees native to this particular biome, have a germination rate of over 95% and do not require human intervention to thrive, so it’s just a matter of sitting back and witnessing the magic!
References: Reuters | World Resources Institute
