Diplomats voiced disappointment and concern on Friday after fresh statistics revealed higher-than-expected deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon this year, saying that it puts additional pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro’s government to do more to stop the damage.
Non-governmental organisations were outraged by the fact that Brazilian government sat on the data for three weeks before disclosing it.
The report, dated October 27, was released by the government following this month’s high-profile United Nations COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, when Brazil signed up to a global vow to stop deforestation by 2030 and made further climatic commitments.
Joaquim Pereira Leite, Brazil’s environment minister, told reporters that he got access to the data only on Thursday, when it was announced. He termed the statistics ‘unacceptable’ and vowed to take more aggressive efforts to combat deforestation.
According to Brazil’s national space research organisation, Inpe, deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon has reached a new peak since 2006, with an area greater than the state of Connecticut, removed.
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