Amazon Deforestation At Record Low:
The destruction of the Amazon rainforest is at its lowest since Brazil began monitoring 24 years ago.
"The latest data from the National Institute of Space Research relates to a period before a change in the code which environmentalists say eases the protection designed to prevent deforestation – a claim the government disputes," reported the BBC.
The government hopes to reduce deforestation to 3,925 sq km by 2020. From July 2011 to July 2012, Brazil lost more than 4,600 sq km (1,780 sq miles) of rainforest. But compared to the previous 12 months, figures show the rate of deforestation fell 27 percent. Overall, deforestation rates in the Amazon have been declining since 2004.
But in some Brazilian states where previously the deforestation was not as aggressive, destruction rates have risen: In Acre there was a rise of 10 percent; in Amazonas 29 percent and in Tocantins 33 percent.
In two states where deforestation has destroyed much of the forest, the rate of destruction has now decreased: In Mato Grosso the reduction was 31 percent and in Para 44 percent.
