Suppression of native vegetation in the Pampa has consolidated data

On Thursday, July 22, Minister of the Environment Izabella Teixeira announced data on native vegetation suppression in the Pampa biome - consolidated for the first time - and on Amazon deforestation, that between August 2009 and May 2010 was 47% lower than the same period of 2008/2009. The record-breaking figures are even greater than the 42% reduction recorded by satellite by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) last year.

A total of 54% of the Pampa original coverage was suppressed along its occupation history. Between 2002 and 2008, 36,400 hectares were lost annually, which means 1.23%. "We knew that there were losses, but had not yet consolidated data. Now, we are investigating the causes of these losses" the Minister said. One of the reasons is reforestation with exotic species planted for paper manufacturing. Data were obtained by the Ministry of the Environment based on maps provided by Landsat satellite.

In order to tackle the problem, the Ministry of the Environment proposes the creation of new conservation units in the biome, the adoption of good practices in agriculture and farming, and the enforcement of the economic-ecological zoning guidelines, recently formulated by the Council for the Environment of Rio Grande do Sul state.

Izabella Teixeira mentioned that, for the first time, there is "a general picture about the biomes of the country". Only data on the Atlantic Forest are still missing, but they shall be announced next month.

Reduction of deforestation was recorded in all states except Amazonas, which had an increase of 6%. The Ministry of the Environment will investigate the reasons, starting with Lábrea, a municipality that is among the 14 leaders in deforestation. The accumulated deforestation in the biome was 2,958.30 sq km between August 2008 and May 2009, and 1,564.81 sq km in the same months between 2009 and 2010. According to monitoring conducted last May, states with the highest deforestation figures are Mato Grosso (51.9 sq km), Pará (37.2 sq km), Rondônia (10.7 sq km) and Amazonas (9.8 sq km).

The Minister estimates that the reduction is a trend that has been consolidated by several factors, including state actions and surveillance operations involving the Federal Police, the Federal Highway Police, the National Force, and the Office of the Chief of Staff. Luciano Evaristo, IBAMA's Director of Environmental Protection, announced that 14 operations against deforestation are underway in the Amazon today. He said there will be 226 throughout this year, with 65 sawmills already closed in the region, and 195 trucks, 59 tractors and 103 cubic meters of timber seized between August and May.