These 10 Charts Show How Much Rainforest Was Destroyed During Bolsonaro’s Tenure “Just the Tip of the Iceberg”: How Russian Neo-Nazis Steal Crypto From Donation Sites

Tropical forests play an important role in the global climate. They are seen as a buffer against climate change because they store large amounts of the greenhouse gas CO₂. But only if they store more greenhouse gases than they emit. Ironically, this is no longer the case in the Amazon’s largest rainforest. In May 2021, researchers led by Yuanwei Qin of the University of Oklahoma reported in a study published in the journal “Nature Climate Change” that about 20 percent more CO₂ has been released into the atmosphere over the past decade than could be absorbed.

The cause, according to the researchers, is the progressive deforestation of the largest rainforest. Brazil, where most of the Amazon rainforest is located, plays a decisive role.

After the destruction of the rainforest was curbed by various laws from 2004, it gained momentum again under the right-wing nationalist government led by Jair Bolsonaro.

In September 2022, deforestation in the Brazilian rainforest reached a new high. In these 30 days alone, about 1455 square kilometers of primary forest was destroyed. In 2022, Brazil will also be heading for the highest level of deforestation in more than 15 years.

Since the summer of 2015, deforestation has also been measured monthly using the Deter satellites (see info box). Here's what changed under Bolsonaro:

Since 1455 square kilometers is hard to grasp, let's take a closer look and then calculate in football fields.

That's how big the Amazon rainforest is

According to the WWF, the rainforest in South America is 5.4 million square kilometers. About 60 percent of these are in Brazil:

Deforestation took place here

The Brazilian space agency INPE has two satellite methods to measure the canopy of the rainforest: Deter and Prodes (see infobox). All black dots on the map indicate where deforestation has occurred since 2018:

13 seconds for a football field

As of September 2022, 1455 square kilometers of rainforest are known to have been cleared. If we take a football field (FIFA standard size 68x105 meters) and calculate this area in square kilometers, we arrive at 0.007.

That means that in September alone an entire football field was cleared every 13 seconds. And this around the clock.

If we calculate the whole thing over an hour, we will arrive at 283 football fields that have been deforested within 60 minutes.

In one day alone, 6,792 football fields in the Amazon rainforest disappeared:

Since this measure is also hardly comprehensible, we take the Champs Elysées in Paris to help. From wall to wall, this famous Parisian street is almost as wide as a football field:

Champs Elysees from Zurich to Berlin

We take the 6,792 football fields that were destroyed each day in September and list them. The result is a stretch of 713 kilometers - as wide as the Champs-Elysées - from Bern to Berlin. Please note one day.

only indoors throughout September 2022 a Champs-Elysées was cut down, which leads halfway around the planet (about 21,400 kilometers)

While Jair Bolsonaro's tenure (since January 2019) according to the Deter measurement method, 35,000 square kilometers of rainforest in Brazil have been destroyed. If you were to line up this area in football fields, the route would go around the world 22 times.

Switzerland almost cut down once

Or to put it another way: during Bolsonaro's nearly four-year tenure, roughly Switzerland without the canton of Valais chopped down.

It was cut down for that

As mentioned above, for many years there was significantly more logging than during Bolsonaro's tenure. But the numbers show that Bolsonaro has not spared the rainforest. In 2022, more forest was destroyed than ever since 2007. The election of Lula da Silva is therefore a blessing for climate protectors. Whether and to what extent deforestation will be slowed down remains to be seen in the coming months. Here again the annual deforestation since 1988:

decline since 2005 ...

Reasons for the decline were moratoria and close scrutiny of the law. For example, Brazil's Forest Law (FC) restricted the felling of private land. Since 1996, owners are only allowed to cultivate one fifth of their land. The problem is that it is not always clear who owns which land. Another challenge is monitoring the regulations.

Indeed, the environmental register Cadastro Ambiental Rural (CAR), which lists the properties, ensured that between 2014 and 2018 an area of ​​8751 square kilometers of forest was protected.

Other measures, such as the soy moratorium introduced in 2006, also contributed to the decline. Just like the self-involvement introduced in 2009 by livestock farmers, butchers and the government. It banned the trade in beef grown on protected land.

High hopes for Lula

Under Bolsonaro, the laws were relaxed and barely enforced. Amapa state university estimates that up to five percent of fines are paid. Lula da Silva's election victory bodes well for the Brazilian rainforest. He promised a turnaround.

The new president wants to strengthen environmental and climate protection again. "Let's fight for zero deforestation," he said in his victory speech and continued: "Brazil is ready to resume its leading role in the fight against the climate crisis and to protect all of our biomes, especially the Amazon rainforest." During his tenure from 2004 to 2013, deforestation was reduced by 84 percent.

It shouldn't be that easy. He faces a right-wing conservative majority in both the Senate and Congress. And in his first two terms in office, he himself made decisions that were strongly criticized by environmentalists, such as the "Belo Monte" dam.