Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest

Aerial view of an area of Amazon rainforest deforested by illegal fire in the municipality of Labrea, Amazonas State, Brazil, taken on Aug. 20, 2024.

Deforestation continued last year at a rate far beyond pledges to end the practice by 2030, according to a major study published Tuesday.

The Amazon rainforest has lost an area about the size of Germany and France combined to deforestation in four decades, fueling drought and record wildfires across South America, experts have said.

The world's biggest jungle, spanning nine countries, is crucial to the fight against climate change due to its ability to absorb planet-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The sharp rise in gold prices has driven a surge of illegal mining in Brazil, much of it in the Amazon rainforest, according to a study published on Sept. 6.    

Gold output in Brazil, the world's 14th-biggest producer last year, has soared since the coronavirus pandemic pushed international prices to record highs.    

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest rose by almost 22 percent in one year, the highest level in 15 years, according to figures on Nov. 18 that cast doubt on promises by President Jair Bolsonaro's government to reverse the trend with "forceful" action.

Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil has surged to its highest level since 2008, the country's space agency (Inpe) reports.

 A total of 11,088 sq km (4,281 sq miles) of rainforest were destroyed from August 2019 to July 2020. This is a 9.5% increase from the previous year.

The Amazon is a vital carbon store that slows down the pace of global warming.

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon surged again over the past year, hitting a 12-year high, according to official figures released Monday that drew a chorus of condemnation of President Jair Bolsonaro's government.

While the limelight continues to shine on the Covid-19 pandemic, deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest quietly continues to soar. The area of deforestation destroyed in the Brazilian Amazon in April 2020 was 64 percent higher than in April 2019, according to official government data from Brazil's National Space Research Institute (INPE), which uses satellites to track deforestation.

A non-government group that monitors the Amazon rainforest has said that the pace of deforestation has been increasing.

Deforestation in Brazil's storied Amazon basin region skyrocketed more than 450 percent in October from a year earlier, a non-governmental group warned Nov. 17.
      
The alarming loss was the equivalent of 24,000 football pitches, said Imazon, which works to support sustainable development in the massive and unique ecosystem.