Amazon deforestation could reach tipping point under Bolsonaro’s governance

Image: Amazon deforestation. Credit: Rhett A. Butler. Source: Mogabay.

Recent satellite images reveal that the Amazon deforestation rate reached record levels in 2021. As scientists warn that we are fast approaching a tipping point, activists worry that it is likely to happen under Bolsonaro’s governance.

Image: Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon between October 2016 and August 2021. Source: Planet.

In August 2019, only 8 months after Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took office, satellite images of the Amazon showed a record number of wildfires destroying the rainforest. The fires primarily had the purpose of using the land for farming, mining, and logging.

Image: Forest fire in the Brazilian state of Amazonas in August 2019. Source: MAAP.

Image: Forest fire in the Brazilian state of Pará in August 2019. Source: MAAP.

As the world took notice of the increased deforestation, international leaders pressured the Brazilian government to take action.

During the UN Climate Summit in Glasgow, Bolsonaro claimed that his government would reduce deforestation by 15–20% every year and eliminate it by 2028. However, activists warn that those are nothing but ‘greenwashing’ promises.

A recent report released by the Brazilian government indicates that the deforestation rate in 2021 increased by 22% — making it the highest level of the past 15 years.

Image: Deforestation in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso between November 2020 and March 2021. Source: Planet.

Those number becomes even more significant when taking into account that in 2020, deforestation had already increased by 13% compared to the previous year when Bolsonaro took office.

Image: Forest fire in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso where 44,000 hectares of rainforest were destroyed between May and October 2020. Source: MAAP.

Brazil is home to almost ⅓ of the world’s tropical forests. That includes 60% of the Amazon rainforest. The remaining 40% is distributed among eight other South-American countries.

According to the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, between 1978 and 1988, the average annual deforestation rate was about 15,000 Km² (or 5,800 square miles). Nowadays up to ⅕ of the forest (total) has already been destroyed (source).

Scientists warn that 20–25% of deforestation represents a tipping point. That means that the region would produce more carbon than it could absorb and turn into a savannah.

Reaching that Those number becomes even more significant when taking into account that in 2020, deforestation had already increased by 13% compared to the previous year when Bolsonaro took office.point of no return, would not only drastically accelerate climate change but would also result in a significant loss of biodiversity not found anywhere else on the planet.

Image: Progressive deforestation between 1975 and 2021 in the state of Rondonia, Brazil. Source: Landsat.