You'll no doubt be pleased to hear that deforestation rates in the Amazon have fallen, according to figures from the government of Brazil. The National Institute for Space Research reported yesterday that just 6,451km2 of rainforest were felled between August 2009 and July 2010, a drop of 14 per cent on the previous year.
I say just, but that's still 6,451km2 of rainforest we won't get back in a hurry, with all the impacts on biodiversity, reducing emissions and (obviously) trees that entails. So while it's certainly worth applauding what is the lowest Amazon deforestation rate in history, not to mention evidence of a continuing downward trend since 2005 (despite the occasional blip), we haven't reached that all-important goal of zero deforestation.
What is clear, though, is that halting deforestation is possible, not only in Brazil but in other parts of the world too. This 14 per cent drop also happened during a period of economic expansion in Brazil, showing that it can be done without having a detrimental effect on livelihoods.
As if to underline this fact, Brazil's largest public bank - Banco de Brasil - has announced it won't give rural credit to soya farmers planting in newly deforested areas. In doing so, it also joined the moratorium on deforestation at the hands of the soya industry, which we were instrumental in creating in 2006 and is still going strong today.
There is, however, the small matter of Brazil's forest code, amendments to the which are still working their way through Brazil's legislative process. If they're approved it will severely weaken the government's ability to protect the forest.
Deforestation is also one of the hot topics in Cancun, where a deal to reduce emissions from deforestation (the Redd deal as it's known) is being tabled. If that's agreed (and actually does the job it's supposed to, rather than being a money-making subsidy for logging companies), then hopefully we'll see deforestation rates in the Amazon and elsewhere drop faster still in the next few years.
