2004 Amazon deforestation figures from the government of Brazil

Deforestation Figures for Brazil Year Deforestation [sq mi] Deforestation [sq km] 1978-1988* 8158 21,130 1990 5,332 13,810 1991 4,297 11,130 1992 5,322 13,786 1993 5,950 15,410 1994 5,751 14,896 1995 11,219 29,059 1996 7,013 18,160 1997 5,034 13,040 1998 6,501 16,840 1999 6,663 17,259 2000 7,658 19,836 2001 7,027 18,130 2002 9,845 25,500 2003 9,343 24,130 All figures derived from official National Institute of Space Research (INPA) figures Deforestation Chart *For the 1978-1988 period the figures represent the average annual rates of deforestation.

The Brazilian government released preliminary figures showing nearly 9,000 square miles of the Amazon have been destroyed this year.

Satellite images suggest that 8,920 square miles to 9,420 square miles -- an area larger than New Jersey -- was razed this year. In 2003, around 9,343 square miles (24,130 sq. km) of rainforest was lost.

The satellite data showed a marked increase in deforestation along the BR-163 road, a highway the government has been paving in an effort to help soy farmers from Mato Grosso get their crops to export markets. Typically, roads encourage settlement by rural poor who look to the rainforest as free land for subsistence agriculture.

To learn more about deforestation in the Amazon, check out these links:

• Why is the rainforest being destroyed in Brazil?
• How to Save the Amazon Rainforest
• Amazon Deforestation Figures

Deforestation in the tropics, copyright Rhett A. Butler 2004

This article was written by Rhett A. Butler [citation]

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