Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon Rises 7.3% in February

Data released by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) on March 17 showed that deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon reached 95.4 square kilometers in February, a 7.3% increase from the same period last year. Although this is the lowest February figure recorded in the past decade, the increase in deforestation remains a cause for concern, as logging leads to biodiversity loss, increased soil erosion, higher carbon emissions, and undermines the Amazon’s role as a carbon sink—often referred to as the “Lungs of the Earth.”