When created in 2006, the Triunfo do Xingu Environmental Protection Area in the Brazilian Amazon was supposed to preserve the region’s rich biodiversity and nearby protected areas. Instead, the reserve has lost over 40% of its rainforest, and become a conduit for deforestation into nearby protected areas. Now, satellite data and imagery indicate deforestation in Triunfo do Xingu is continuing to soar in 2024 — and is spreading into nearby protected areas. The Triunfo do Xingu reserve encompasses some 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) — an area more than half the size of Belgium — and sits in the verdant Xingu Basin, a biodiverse region home to 28 conservation areas and 18 Indigenous territories. Within the reserve, landowners are allowed to clear up to 20% of their land, but must leave the remaining forest intact. But satellite data and imagery reveal a far higher rate of deforestation. From 2006 to 2023, the reserve lost 41% of its primary (old growth) forest cover, according to the Global Forest Watch (GFW) platform. That’s equivalent to 617,000 hectares of forest, or 6,170 square kilometers (2,382 square miles). Primary forest loss peaked in 2020, with nearly 70,000 hectares of forest destroyed. Deforestation declined somewhat in 2021 and 2022, but remained relatively high, with more than 50,000 hectares of forest lost each year. In 2023, deforestation dropped again, with 30,000 hectares lost that year. But this year, clearing appears to have sped up again. From January to November deforestation alerts from the Global Forest…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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