BRASILIA, Oct 16 (Reuters) – Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest declined to the lowest level on record in the 12 months through July, data released by Brazilian space research agency Inpe showed on Friday.
• Some 3,335 square kilometers (1,287.65 square miles) of Amazon jungle were destroyed in the 12 months through July, down about 42% from the previous period
• It is the lowest deforestation level on record in the historical series that goes back to 1988, the data showed
• The data is produced yearly by Inpe’s PRODES satellite monitoring program
• The official annual period is measured from August to July as there is less cloud cover in the middle of the year to obscure deforestation on satellite images
• In Brazil’s Cerrado savanna, deforestation fell about 24% in the period, to some 5,517 square kilometers, also the lowest on record — in this case the series goes back to 2001
(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia; Writing by Andre Romani; Editing by Fernando Cardoso)
