The following is Mongabay’s annual recap of major tropical rainforest storylines. This year, the list is more concise than in the past. Previous year-in-reviews: 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | The 2010s | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2009 While the data is still preliminary, it appears that deforestation declined across the tropics as a whole in 2023 due to developments in the Amazon, which has more than half the world’s remaining primary tropical forests. Sharp decline in Amazon deforestation An analysis published in December by the MAAP initiative revealed a significant decrease in deforestation. In the first 11 months of 2023, deforestation totaled 912,000 hectares, marking a 56% reduction compared to the same period in 2022, and a 68% decrease from 2020 levels. MAAP’s preliminary estimate for deforestation across the Amazon basin in 2023. Brazil played a key role in this decline. The country’s National Space Research Institute (INPE) reported a 22% decrease in deforestation for the year ending July 31, 2023. This downward trend intensified after August 1st. Lula prioritizes the Amazon A major factor in reducing deforestation across the Brazilian Amazon was the transition from Jair Bolsonaro’s administration, which dismantled environmental protections, to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s. Lula campaigned on a platform of addressing rampant forest destruction. Annual deforestation in the legal Amazon since 1988, according to INPE’s PRODES system. Note: 2023 data is preliminary. Monthly and 12-month- moving average data for deforestation…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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