Lula government struggles to rein in deforestation in Brazil

Preliminary data shows that deforestation in the month of March increased by 14 percent compared to the same month last year.

Brazil’s deforestation continues to increase, highlighting the difficulties left-wing president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva faces in stopping deforestation that has exploded under his predecessor.

Preliminary data released on Friday shows the government has yet to deliver on that promise, with deforestation for the month of March up 14 percent from the same month last year.

“This rise in numbers shows that the Amazon still suffers from a massive lack of governance and that the new government needs to act urgently to rebuild its capacity to repress environmental crime, which was completely destroyed by the previous government, Marcio Astrini, head of the local environmental group Climate Observatory, told the Reuters news agency.

During the tenure of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, experts warned that increasing deforestation was jeopardizing efforts to tackle the climate crisis and indigenous communities becoming targets of powerful business interests encroaching on the rainforest, often with the implicit support of the Bolsonaro’s right-wing government. .

Inaugurated on January 1, Lula had pledged to curb deforestation and protect indigenous people from the illegal enterprises that are fueling its rise.

“I’m here to tell you all that Brazil is back in the world,” Lula told a crowd at the COP27 climate conference in November 2022. “You all know we’re going to have a big fight against deforestation.”

However, satellite images from INPE’s national space surveys show that 356 square kilometers (137 square miles) were cleared in the month of March. From January to March, deforestation fell by about 11 percent compared to the previous year.

The mixed results underscored the challenges that remain after years of lax enforcement and unofficial support for many of the illegal business activities that contribute to deforestation, seen by Bolsonaro as a form of economic development.

“The numbers show that there is a complex scenario in the face of a weakening of control in the region and discourse in recent years favoring illegality,” said Mariana Napolitano, the conservation manager of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Brazil, the AFP news agency told.

“Although the current government has shown that it is serious about combating deforestation, it will take time to change the scenario.”