This micro-site aggregates data on deforestation in the Amazon from several sources. The most timely data comes from Brazil: specifically Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and Imazon, a Brazilian NGO.
Narrative context on these issues can be found at Mongabay’s Amazon rainforest section as well as Mongabay’s regular news reporting on the Amazon in English, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish. Recent headlines from these sites can be found at the bottom of this page.
Sections
This site is organized into sections:
- Brazilian Amazon: Monthly deforestation (INPE + Imazon)
- Brazilian Amazon: Monthly land use change (INPE)
Annual data
Recent news on monitoring deforestation in the Amazon rainforest
English
- Brazil researchers boost timber traceability with new chemical analysison November 4, 2024 at 2:36 pm
- Brazilian researchers have opened a new front in the search for a reliable timber tracking system by using chemical analysis to determine where a tree was grown.- The technique relies on identifying a wood sample’s chemical signature, which can then be matched against various known soil profiles to narrow down its origin.- As the technology evolves, the researchers say they hope to combine it with stable isotope analysis to increase the precision of timber tracking.- Most timber provenance inspections in Brazil rely on public documents whose information can easily be faked by illegal loggers.
- JBS broke its own rules while buying cattle from deforested areas in Pantanalon October 31, 2024 at 10:00 am
- JBS, the world’s largest meatpacking company, has over the last five years been buying cattle from farms that were caught illegally deforesting Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands despite the company’s claims of environmental responsibility.- An Unearthed investigation found that JBS suppliers cleared vast areas of the Pantanal wetlands in the past five years, with Fazenda Querência being the largest deforester, having cleared an area half the size of Paris.- JBS has repeatedly violated its own zero-deforestation policies by continuing to purchase cattle from farms under embargo for illegal deforestation.- The expansion of agribusiness, especially the demand for cattle and the introduction of invasive species like brachiaria grass, is threatening the Pantanal’s unique biodiversity and its ability to recover naturally from drought and wildfires.
- Inclusive tracking and recognition of area-based conservation helps people & planet (commentary)on October 30, 2024 at 12:12 am
- The world needs to embrace an inclusive approach to recognizing and tracking area-based conservation, a new op-ed by a group of researchers argues.- Momentum has been growing around establishing and tracking protected areas (PAs) and Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) to achieve 30×30 conservation goals, but a wide variety of such efforts occur beyond these, and are underrepresented in global databases: the authors found >40% of the land in Amazon countries is governed with conservation potential or intention, a significantly larger percentage than is reported in the official database.- “We advise researchers, donors, and decision-makers to consider and inventory a broader scope of area-based conservation and more diverse actors than they currently do. This approach can enhance research, conservation planning, funding allocation, and program strategies to achieve national conservation targets,” the researchers write.- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.
- Deforestation plunges but environmental threats remain as Colombia hosts COP16on October 21, 2024 at 8:28 pm
- As global leaders, experts, activists and Indigenous voices meet this October in the Colombian city of Cali at the U.N. Biodiversity Conference, COP16, missteps and successes within President Gustavo Petro’s environment agenda are watched closely.- COP16 occurs two years after the country’s first-ever left-wing president was sworn in, pledging to turn Colombia into “a leader in the protection of life,” as his four-year plan centers on energy transition, Indigenous causes and tackling climate change.- But while praised internationally for his efforts to promote conservation, shift away from fossil fuels and surround himself with green-abiding authorities, Petro remains under pressure, as many of his environmental proposals are still on paper, upholding Colombia’s long-lasting socioenvironmental struggles.- Experts attribute a lack of sufficient environmental resolutions to various factors, including a Congress resistant to government initiatives, challenges in curbing deforestation and Colombia’s status as the most dangerous country for environmental defenders, as highlighted by recent reports.
- Extreme drought wrecks rivers and daily life in Amazon’s most burnt Indigenous landon October 18, 2024 at 2:05 pm
- Almost 20% of the Kayapó Indigenous Territory has burned in this year’s Amazon drought, the worst ever recorded in Brazil.- The land has for years been subjected to illegal mining, cattle ranching and burning of forests, degrading both the soil and rivers and significantly disrupting the way of life for the Mebêngôkre-Kayapó people.- The Indigenous inhabitants now confront a growing crisis as wildfires and drought threaten their lands, particularly along the Riozinho River.- According to ecologist Rodolfo Salm, who has worked with the Kayapó since 1996, fire has now surpassed illegal logging as the greatest danger to the region.