Deforestation in January was also below the historical average of 196 km² for the month since 2016, although January’s figures may be particularly noisy given the heavy clouds over the rainforest early in the year.
“It is positive to see such a relevant decline in January,” said Daniel Silva, conservation expert for WWF-Brazil. “However, it is still too early to talk about a trend reversal, as part of this decline may be related to greater cloud cover.”
He said the January data represented the first decline in five months from a year earlier.
The latest figures come after Reuters exclusively reported on Thursday that the United States is preparing a plan aimed at fighting Amazon deforestation, with a possible announcement during President Joe Biden’s meeting with Lula at the White House on Friday. considering its first contribution to the Multilateral Fund.
The Brazil-administered Amazon fund, mainly backed by Norway and Germany, was reactivated by Environment Minister Marina Silva on the day he took office last month after being frozen since 2019 under Bolsonaro.