These aerial photos, taken on 29 and 30 June 2011, show new areas of deforestation in previously intact areas of the Amazon rainforest. The two insets are satellite images showing before and after the deforestation had occurred. Campaigner Andre Muggiati was aboard the plane when these photos were taken.
In the Brazilian Amazon, we have made an unsettling discovery. There we were, flying over wide areas of intact preserved forest in the municipality of Apuí in the south of Amazonas state. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a man-made clearing opens in the middle of the jungle. The trees below had recently been chopped down, a clear case of forest destruction.
But here? In the middle of 'nowhere'? There wasn’t any time to angrily ponder how, because then came another clearing, and then another...
Encircling the mosaic of the small areas we could tell that, when connected, they would form a large illegal farm. But the crime didn’t end there. The same forest criminals had also wiped out trees lining the creeks and streams in the area, directly violating sections of the current Brazilian Forest Code that aim to prevent flooding and protect the streams.
After two days of flyovers, observing small- and medium-scale forest crimes, as well as vast areas of forest dried out by nearby fires, there wasn’t any doubt: deforestation has come back with a vengeance. This new wave is most likely motivated by the promise of amnesty for forest criminals which is contained in the new forest code legislation recently approved by the Brazilian lower house of congress.
Now forest criminals are advancing further and further into the forest. New cases of deforestation are appearing in areas that were previously outside the criminals' scope, and not just here in Apui but also in far-flung locations such as Canutama, Novo Aripuanã, Lábrea, and Boca do Acre.
The results of the Brazilian government’s Real-Time Deforestation Detection System (Deter) confirm that the southern part of Amazonas state - long considered a frontier of expansion - is now seeing more logging. Compared to Deter’s data from last year, there is a striking increase in deforestation.
Our satellite lab in Manaus has been identifying and tracking dozens of deforestation areas that appear in the satellite images and we frequently fly over those areas for a closer look. We then compiled our photos and data into a formal complaint that we sent to the appropriate authorities including the public attorney’s office and the environmental agency, IBAMA.
Greenpeace is spreading the word through media outlets in Brazil and abroad and our hope is that the government does something to intervene in these forest massacres, while there is still time.
But more importantly, the Brazilian senate should not approve the new Forest Code legislation that is already inspiring forest destruction, even before it has become law.
