During his campaign, Brazil’s new President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, committed to preventing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. Well, new official data suggests that he has already begun to meet his pledge. According to the data, the pace of deforestation declined by 68% in April compared to the previous year. The Amazon is renowned as the world’s lungs, and this news provides a ray of hope for everyone.

According to official statistics from the Brazilian space research organisation Inpe, 328.71 square kilometres were cleared in the Brazilian Amazon in April. This was less than the monthly historical average of 455.75 square kilometres. According to government figures, deforestation in the Amazon has been greatly reduced, and the world is eagerly awaiting to see the positive effects of it.

Credit: filipefrazao 

Why Is The Amazon Rainforest Important?

The Amazon is critical because people throughout the world, as well as locally, rely on the rainforest. Not only for food, water, timber, and medicines but also to help regulate the climate—the Amazon rainforest stores around 76 billion tonnes of carbon. The Amazon’s trees also emit 20 billion tonnes of water into the atmosphere daily. That plays an important role in global and regional carbon and water cycles.

Analyzing The Factors Behind The Drastic 68% Drop in Amazon’s Deforestation

There are various variables contributing to this dramatic decrease in deforestation, and a change in administration might be one of them. Experts credit the significant reduction in deforestation rates to a mix of causes, including more law enforcement, tougher laws, and joint efforts among governments, local people, and environmental organizations. These policies, together with new techniques, have been critical in turning the tide against deforestation.

According to the incoming president, Brazil is on track to meet its pledge to halt deforestation by 2030. He reinforced that vow earlier this month when Britain agreed to contribute £80 million to the Amazon fund. Amazon fund is an anti-deforestation program supported by Norway, Germany, and the United States.

Implication And Challenges of Sustaining The Decrease in Deforestation Rates For The Amazon Rainforest

Amazon’s Deforestation often peaks during the summer owing to the dry season. Researchers are unclear if the declining trend will continue throughout the year. The dry season is yet to begin; therefore, maintaining the current rate of deforestation will be difficult.

The reduction in deforestation should be praised. However, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is improving, but land clearing in the country’s dry Cerrado region is increasing alarmingly. As a result, the reduction in deforestation should be viewed as a stepping stone to decreasing even more deforestation in the future.

Also Read: How Deforestation Affects The Environment?