Deforestation In Brazil's
Amazon Rainforest Down
Rio de Janerio - The deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon
rainforest has eased somewhat, although the loss in its area is
still considerable, statistics showed Tuesday.
A total of 754 square kilometers of rainforest disappeared between
November 2008 and January 2009, said a study by the country's
National Institute of Space Research (Inpe).
It represents a drop of 21.8 percent compared with the 964 square
kilometers lost from August to October 2008, and 70.2 percent from
the 2,527 square kilometers that disappeared in the corresponding
period in the previous year.
However, the area devastated between November and January is still
equivalent to half the size of Sao Paulo, the largest city in South
America.
The Para state in northern Brazil was responsible for 42 percent of
the deforestation in the period, or an area of 318.7 square
kilometers.
The mid-western state of Mato Grosso and the northeastern state of
Maranhao also saw a large contraction in their rainforest areas.
A total of 7,341 square kilometers of rainforest was lost across
Brazil in 2008, five times the size of Sao Paulo.
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