Amazon deforestation down by a third in 2023: Brazil

Brasilia, July 7 The Brazilian government has claimed that deforestation in the Amazon rainforest has decreased by a third, ot 33.6 per cent, in the first six months since President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's assumed office compared with the same period last year.

The announcement was based on new satellite data presented by Brazil's National Institute of Space Research (Inpe) on Thursday, reports the BBC.

According to the Inpe, the rainforest shrank by 2,649 sq km from January to June this year, down from 3,988 sq km in those six months last year under former President Jair Bolsonaro.

The Institute singled out June as the month that saw a record 41 per cent drop in forest clearance compared with the same period last year.

"We have reached a steady downward trend in deforestation of the Amazon," the BBC quoted Environment Minister Marina Silva as saying to reporters.