{"id":50057975,"date":"2022-09-05T18:38:50","date_gmt":"2022-09-05T17:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.dialogochino.net\/?p=57975"},"modified":"2023-01-08T17:23:01","modified_gmt":"2023-01-08T17:23:01","slug":"57867-amazon-presidential-elections-motivated-race-for-forest-destruction","status":"publish","type":"photo_story","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/uncategorized\/57867-amazon-presidential-elections-motivated-race-for-forest-destruction\/","title":{"rendered":"Aerial images show deforestation \u2018race\u2019 in Amazon ahead of Brazilian elections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Seen from above, the Amazon region reveals two opposing worlds side by side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the one hand, dense forest prevents light and sight from penetrating its canopy. Rivers take on unique contours, etching a course and leaving their fingerprints on a forest where many indigenous and riverside communities live among rich vegetation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other side, square parcels of land are carved from the greenery for industrial agriculture, mining operations slash through the forest like scars, miles at a time, while vast herds of cattle speckle the cleared land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seen from the sky, a series of fires is quickly turning vast green areas into ashes. They expose a clear imbalance: one of these worlds is advancing, while the other is unable to react.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"the<\/div>
The flight crossed areas of preserved Amazon forest, such as the Tapaj\u00f3s National Forest, in Par\u00e1 (Image: Fl\u00e1via Milhorance \/ Di\u00e1logo Chino)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"The<\/div>
The Arapiuns river in Par\u00e1 state, flanked by intact Amazon forest. Ecosystem preservation is essential for controlling global warming and storing carbon (Image: Fl\u00e1via Milhorance \/ Di\u00e1logo Chino)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In recent months, this advance has become increasingly conspicuous to those who follow the changes in the Amazon from above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe that the upcoming elections, and the lack of certainty over who will be the new president next year, has motivated a rush to destroy the forest,\u201d said Roni Lira, an activist who has been monitoring the biome from the air for more than two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 26 August, Di\u00e1logo Chino accompanied ClimaInfo on a flight over several rapidly advancing deforestation zones in the northern Brazilian state of Par\u00e1: the municipalities of Santar\u00e9m, Belterra, Trair\u00e3o, Itaituba and Jacareacanga. During the flight, Lira was able to identify changes to the landscape using a mapping system and an experienced naked eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"the<\/div>
Roni Lira with the mapping software used to monitor the areas below. The system also allows for real-time navigation (Image: Fl\u00e1via Milhorance \/ Di\u00e1logo Chino)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Deforestation<\/div>
Deforestation carried out sometime between June and August in the municipality of Belterra. Soybean production is common in this region. (Image: Fl\u00e1via Milhorance \/ Di\u00e1logo Chino)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe president, since his speeches pre-election [in 2018], has signalled his encouragement for the devastation of the Amazon for the sake of a \u2018development\u2019 that we are yet to see,\u201d said Lira.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lira added that, in addition to bellicose rhetoric against the protection of the Amazon and traditional peoples, President Jair Bolsonaro has removed officials<\/a> who investigated environmental crimes, and reduced the budget<\/a> of the country\u2019s environment ministry \u2013 most notably in the control of fires by IBAMA, the ministry\u2019s inspection and enforcement body. Such moves, Lira said, have ensured an \u201cinstitutional support\u201d to major deforesters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With polls currently indicating that the Bolsonaro may not be re-elected in October\u2019s presidential election, the destruction of the Amazon is believed to have sped to an even faster rate in recent months \u2013 perhaps a last-minute rush. \u201cSince there is no guarantee that, next year, the government will continue this kindness to those who deforest, they are deforesting left, right and centre,\u201d Lira said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"<\/div>
Left: Soybean fields and pastures interspersed with patches of remaining forest. Right: Illegal mining extends for kilometres into the forest (Images: Fl\u00e1via Milhorance \/ Di\u00e1logo Chino)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/div>
A forestry concession on the Arapiuns River. Boat traffic is frequent in this region occupied by many\u00a0ribeirinho<\/em>\u00a0riverside communities (Image: Fl\u00e1via Milhorance \/ Di\u00e1logo Chino)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fires and failing reserve<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The humid climate of the Amazon forest prevents fires from occurring naturally, meaning that those that do occur in the region are manmade, generally to clear the forest to make way for various economic activities that have established themselves in the region, such as timber and soy production, cattle farming and mining. Fires tend to multiply after mid-May, when the rainy season comes to a close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between May and August this year, a total of 44,338 fire alerts had already been registered in the Amazon, according to data<\/a> from INPE, Brazil\u2019s national space and atmospheric science institute. This number is the highest for this three-month period during the Bolsonaro administration, with the figure more than double the total alerts in 2018, the year before his inauguration. This August saw the highest<\/a> number of fires recorded for the month in the past 12 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deforestation also continues to break records, according to INPE data<\/a>. Estimated annual deforestation jumped from 7,500 km2 in 2018 to 13,000 km2 in 2021 \u2013 the largest area deforested in one year since 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n