While the whole world is watching the pandemic, deforestation continues in the Amazon in Brazil. More than 1,200 km² of forest have disappeared since the start of the year, a spectacular increase compared to the same period last year: 55% more, from January to April. These data are based on satellite surveys made every day since 2015. The measurement is recent and where it worries is that in this season, it rains a lot, and that deforestation is theoretically limited.
"Red flags" to be taken seriously
All this must be validated by observations in the field, to confirm, recalls Plinio Sist, specialist in sustainable management of tropical forests at CIRAD (Center for International Cooperation in Agronomic Research for Development). But he dreads experiencing the same fires as last year.
"At the moment what is done is that the trees are cut down; once the vegetation has been cut down, we will let it dry and there is a strong fear that from July onwards, we will find these completely uncontrollable fire phenomena ", he advances. Deforested and arid areas may indeed facilitate the start of fires. "It is a bit premature to say but I think these are red flags that deserve to be taken seriously if we do not want to experience another summer of mega-fires like last year. "
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Especially since the fight against the coronavirus puts the forest in the background, so to raise awareness of the problem, the mayor of Manaus, the main city in the Amazon, tries to link the two issues: "We need medical staff, respirators, anything that can save the lives of those who protect the forest. "
Last year, 10,000 km² of forest had disappeared in the Amazon.