Brazil’s INPE Revealed Real State of Amazon Deforestation

At the COP26 in Glasgow, Brazil’s Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) reported that deforestation in the country increased by 22% within a year. The latest figures reported by INPE, revealed the real condition of the Amazon forest in Brazil, a country that has for years belittled the concerns raised by environmentalists.

Although Brazil is one of several nations that pledged commitment to end and reverse deforestation by the year 2030, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro did not attend the COP26 summit. The agreement to end deforestation was signed only by the Brazilian delegation sent by Bolsonaro’s government.

Actually, the government of Brazil has from the very start, made promises about developing the Amazon. Yet on the contrary, Bolsonaro’s regime allowed and encouraged agriculture and mining activities in the Amazon. This of course led to the worsening of the deforestation of the rainforest.

In 2019, the Brazilian president accused INPE of besmirching the country’s reputation by releasing devastating reports about deforestation. The report presented to the COP26 delegates was dated October 27, but held back for release in time for the Glasgow summit held last November 1 and 2.

According to local Brazilian reports, the Brazilian delegation’s purpose in attending the COP26 summit was to correct the world’s perception about the country, which included agreeing to end deforestation.

What Brazil’s INPE Revealed

The Amazon has more than three million species of flora and fauna and is home to about one million indigenous people. Due to its capacity to store carbon in greater amounts, it has helped slow down the effects of global warming.

According to INPE’s latest data, some 13,235 square kilometers of rainforests were lost between the years 2020 and 2021, it is the highest ever recorded since 2006. The INPE report also divulged links between Brazil’s thriving agricultural industry in deforested Amazon areas, with many major UK food and supermarket businesses like Tesco, McDonald’s ,Asda, Nando’s and Lidl,