|
NEW DATA INDICATE SLOWING TREND IN BRAZIL'S ANNUAL AMAZON DEFORESTATION RATES
Satellite images indicate an estimated 23% decrease from August 2011 to July 2012
Category: Investment, Brazil
Ideas get bigger when you share them...
News about Brazilian State
BRASILIA - August 3, 2012 (InvestorIdeas.com Newswire) Satellite images analyzed by Brazil’s National Space Research Institute (INPE) revealed a slowing trend in yearly Amazon deforestation rates, indicating an estimated 23 percent reduction from August 2011 to July 2012, Minister of Environment Izabella Teixeria announced today in Brasília. Data, from INPE’s Real Time Detection System (DETER), indicate an area of 2,049 square kilometers of forests have been cleared during this period.
"This is a great result, which makes us want to work even harder to tackle illegal deforestation,” said Minister Teixeira. She stressed that data from DETER is mainly used to analyze trends in deforestation, explaining that consolidated annual rates are measured by a different system, with preliminary results traditionally announced at the end of each year.
The new data also indicate a marked decrease in deforestation in the critical states of Amazonas (45 percent) and Pará (42 percent) during the same period, while a 218 percent increase was registered in the northern state of Roraima.
According to Minister Teixeira, the slowing trend is a result of strengthened enforcement efforts and monitoring initiatives by the Brazilian government, including renewed cooperation with national intelligence agencies. She also announced that the municipalities of Alta Foresta and Santana do Araguaia have been removed from the Ministry’s list of priority areas for prevention and control of deforestation in the Amazon for their good performance in 2012, while the municipalities of Anapu and Senador José Porfírio have been added to the list.
"Lasting reduction in deforestation requires more than enforcement and control. This is why the Ministry of Science and Technology is working on a strategy for a new economic model for the Amazon,” said Dr. Carlos Nobre, Secretary for Research and Development Policies and Programs at the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Dr. Nobre announced that around R$100 million (US$ 48 million) from the Amazon Fund will be made available in the coming weeks to support innovative projects utilizing sustainable resources in the Amazon. He also noted that the Ministry is working in partnership with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Company (Embrapa) to develop new standards for sustainable agriculture with a focus on productivity gains.
About SECOM:
The Secretariat for Social Communication (SECOM) of the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil is responsible for coordinating the public relations activities for the government of Brazil. For more information on the Federative Republic of Brazil, please visit www.brasil.gov.br. The official social media accounts for the Brazilian State are on Facebook and Twitter at http://www.facebook.com/BrazilGovNews/ and twitter.com/BrazilGovNews.
US PRESS CONTACT:
Ashley Houk, Fleishman-Hillard New York
+1-212-453-2344
ashley.houk@fleishman.com
This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire and its syndicated partner network
News now!
Get Investorideas.com investor news and stock alerts
Free Sign Up: http://www.investorideas.com/Resources/Newsletter.asp
|
