An aerial view shows deforestation near a forest on the border between Amazonia and Cerrado in Nova Xavantina, Mato Grosso state, Brazil July 28, 2021. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli/File Photo/File Photo

Brasilia, July 6 (RHC)-- Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest fell by 31% between January and May compared to the same period last year, according to data from the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe).

In total, 1,986 km2 of Amazon rainforest was lost in the first five months, compared to 2,867 km2 of deforested area in the same period last year, according to the Institute.  The executive secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA), João Paulo Capobianco, told the press that "the current government has received [from the previous administration] a high rate of deforestation in the Amazon, in a very important range." 

According to the official, the data released "represent a 10 percent drop in the month of May, compared to May of the previous year."  From January to May this year, there was a 31 percent drop in deforestation."

The Brazilian government said that about 46 percent of this year's deforestation occurred on rural properties with public registration in the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR), in which the government can identify the person responsible for the area, whether an owner or a squatter in the land regularization process.

Another 21% of the deforested area was in rural settlements and 15% in undesignated public forest areas. Smaller percentages were observed in conservation units, indigenous lands, and permanent preservation areas.

"Much of the deforestation in the Amazon is illegal, it was not authorized," said the president of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), Rodrigo Agostinho. He added that this year 7,196 infraction reports have been issued and more than 2,200 farms, plots or rural lots have been seized, that is, their activities have been prohibited.

This week, the federal government launched the new edition of the Plan to Prevent and Combat Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm), which has been under discussion since the beginning of the year. It was submitted for public consultation in April, with more than 500 suggestions received.

The document establishes more than 130 goals to be achieved by 2027, including seizures of deforested areas, suspension of irregular registrations, application of fines, hiring of personnel, increased inspection of areas, and regularization of property titles, among others.