Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is at its lowest level, according to the country’s Ministry of Environment, after forest burning dropped dramatically in the 2008 burning season.
New NASA research showed a sharp decline in the quantity of smoke over the Amazon region during the 2008 burning season, which is mainly used to establish pasture for cattle ranching.
According to Amigos de Terra, deforestation in the area is increasingly caused by industrial development, given that the region is one of the world’s major sources of meat and soybeans.
However, the global financial crisis has seen a drop in commodity prices, which has discouraged forest land conversion to pasture and other uses.
The Brazilian government expects the trend to continue and has also agreed to reduce annual forest loss by 70% by 2018 under its national action plan on climate change.
