In Lula’s first six months, Brazil Amazon deforestation dropped 34%, reversing trend under Bolsonaro

By FABIANO MAISONNAVE
Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest dropped 33.6% in the first six months of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s term, providing an encouraging sign for his administration’s environmental efforts. Lula campaigned last year with pledges to rein in illegal logging and undo the environmental devastation under former President Jair Bolsonaro. The improved numbers reflect prioritization of law enforcement, efforts to rebuild environmental agencies, remote surveillance and application of fines, and seizure of cattle from areas found to have been deforested. The Amazon rainforest covers an area twice the size of India and holds tremendous stores of carbon, serving as a crucial buffer against climate change.