Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil fell to a five-year low, the country’s National Institute of Space Research announced on Thursday, a sign that Brazil, which has the biggest share of tropical forest in the world, was making progress on its pledge to halt all deforestation by the end of the decade.
The decline in tree loss is estimated to have reduced the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 7.5 percent.
“Behind this was a political decision,” Marina Silva, Brazil’s environment minister, said on Thursday at a news conference.
“We are changing the image of the country when we change this reality.”The announcement was an encouraging sign that local policies could change the trajectory of global forest loss.
The world lost 10.2 million acres of primary forest in 2022, a 10 percent increase from the year before, according to an annual survey by the World Resources Institute.
Persons:
” Marina Silva
Organizations:
National Institute of Space Research, World Resources Institute
Locations:
Brazil