Deforestation in the Amazon has dropped over the last few months in Brazil and Colombia, with the latter recording the lowest rates in the region in 23 years, according to government data.
The Colombian Amazon lost 44,274 hectares of forest in 2023, 38% down from 71,185 ha in 2022, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development said on Monday.
Deforestation rates followed a similar trend in the Brazilian Amazon, with a 38% drop for the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, according to the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.
“We have put our efforts into the Amazon because it is the region historically that has accounted for more than 50% of deforestation. We achieved a historic milestone with this decrease,” said Colombia’s Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development Susana Muhamad.
“We know that in 85% of the territory where we have signed agreements with the communities, the forest is being protected.”
Last year, the Colombian government launched the Conservar Paga programme to deliver economic incentives to communities committed to protecting forests.
The programme, which has benefitted approximately 2,000 families in the Amazon to date, was first established in four Colombian provinces – Putumayo, Guaviare, Caqueta, and Sur del Meta.
The newly released data showed that Meta saw the steepest reduction in deforestation, with a 57% decrease, followed by Putumayo at 52%, Caqueta at 34%, and Guaviare at 27%.
CERRADO DECLINE
Similarly, the Brazilian government data indicated a downward trend in deforestation in the Amazon as well as the first decline since 2020 in the Cerrado region, the most biodiverse biome of all the world’s savannas and the second-largest in South America.
Deforestation in the Cerrado dropped by 15% in the first half of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.
This follows concerns over the recent increase in forest destruction across the region, which hit the worst on record last November.
“It’s a developing trend, though not yet fully established. This [decline] is crucial given the accelerated growth observed in the Cerrado,” said Brazil’s environment ministry executive secretary, Joao Paulo Capobianco.
“This gives us hope that a consistent drop in deforestation will lead us to zero deforestation,” added Environment Minister Marina Silva, referencing the pledge made by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to eliminate deforestation by 2030.
Clearcutting is a major contributor to Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions, with land use changes accounting for 48% of the total in 2022.
The Amazon, due to its larger areas and forest type, is the largest contributor, followed by the Cerrado.
Compared to the Cerrado, anti-deforestation efforts in the Amazon have been recently aided by increased fines, enhanced remote monitoring, and initiatives such as the reinstatement of the Amazon Fund.
By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com
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