Brazilian Amazon lost 18 trees per second in 2021 – Report

BRAZIL: The Brazilian Amazon lost about 18 trees per second in 2021 as deforestation in the country increased by more than 20 per cent, according to a satellite data-based report released today.

The Mapbiomas report said the country lost some 16,557 square kilometres (1.65 million hectares) of indigenous vegetation in 2021 — an area bigger than Northern Ireland. In 2020, the area lost was 13,789 square kilometres.

Nearly 60 per cent of land deforested in 2021 was in the Amazon, the world’s largest tropical rainforest, the report said.

“In the Amazon alone, 111.6 hectares per hour or 1.9 hectares per minute were deforested, which is equivalent to about 18 trees per second,” according to Mapbiomas, a network of NGOs, universities and technology companies. Clearing land for farming was the main driver, accounting for almost 97 per cent, it said, with illegal mining also a major factor.

– THE MALAY MAIL