Initial government data shows that deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest decreased by approximately 10 percent in May compared to the same period last year, as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration intensified its protective efforts. According to official data from the National Institute for Space Research, forest areas equivalent to 812 square kilometers were cleared in the Brazilian Amazon last month, down from 900 square kilometers recorded the previous year.
So far this year, by the end of May, deforestation in the Amazon has dropped by 31 percent compared to the same five months in 2022, according to the institute's data. However, despite the reduction in the Amazon, deforestation activities in the Brazilian Cerrado, a savanna region adjacent to the rainforest, increased by 83 percent in May compared to the previous year.
Lula took office on January 1 and pledged to intensify efforts to halt deforestation in the Amazon after years of increased clearing under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. The former right-wing president had reduced environmental protection efforts and cut funding and staff in key agencies, advocating for more agriculture and mining in protected lands.
